Today I sat down with North Carolina A&T State University Senator Raymond Beamon. He is one of 31 senators on campus representing the most powerful entity in SGA.
Due to the recent acts of our SGA President, the students have looked to our Senate to decide what consequences should occur.
The word "impeachment" has been thrown around a few times. As a result, I asked him to explain the impeachment process here at A&T.
Q: What is your Position in Senate?
A: I am a District one Senator, meaning I represent the College of Arts & Sciences. I serve as the Judicial Chairman in the Judicial Committee.
Q: What are your duties under that position?
A: We follow the Judicial Review. Basically we check the Executive Board, Class Officer Association, Election Committee, and the A&T Register. We check them on three points, “What have you done?” “What do you plan to do?” and “Are you following through with the promises you made during the election?”
Q: For those who may not know, could you define the term “impeach”?
A: To impeach is to accuse, a public official, before an appropriate tribunal of misconduct in office.
Q: Who is specifically in charge of the impeachment process?
A: The only thing the constitution specifies is that a committee of three senators is to be put in charge. Who those three senators are is not specified. In my opinion the committee should be made up of, the senator that is most experienced (served the most years in senate), the Rules and Regulations Chairman, and the Judicial Chairman.
Q: Can you explain the impeachment process here at A&T?
A: Section 6, Article VIII of the Constitution explains the Impeachment Process. Basically, the three person committee is responsible for investigating and assessing whether there’s been a violation worth impeachment. They then vote and if it passes they draft the articles of impeachment. The committee then presents the articles of impeachment to the full body senate. The full body then votes on whether the official should be impeached or not. 3/4th’s of the senate must vote “yes” in order for the official to be voted out.
Q: Who wrote the constitution?
A: Jesse Jackson wrote the constitution for A&T. However, he must have not thought we’d ever have to impeach someone. He left us no by-laws, no detail, nothing. We’re basically wondering on uncharted territory.
Q: So is it basically a general consensus that the section on impeachment is insufficient?
A: Yes, I mean he only left us one paragraph.
Q: If you could change anything about the impeachment process, what would you change?
A: Yes, I would make it so that the Judicial Branch votes on whether the violation is worth impeachment and be the ones to take in front of the senate. I also believe the senate has too much power; we are the most powerful officials on campus. A lot of people don’t realize it but we are in charge of everyone, including the students.
Q: Where can students find a copy of A&T's constitution
A: A copy of the Constitution can be found in every student planner. A downloadable copy can be found here.
If you have any more questions Raymond can be contacted at: rbeamon@ncat.edu
-By Sylvia Obell
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