SARB closes student leader investigation

By HOPE CALDWELL
Collegian Staff Writer

The three-week investigation of Undergraduate Student Government President Mike King, Associate Supreme Court Justice James O'Rourke and Chief Justice Corey O'Brien is over. The Senate Appointments and Review Board (SARB) has found the "evidence inconclusive and cannot make any recommendations to the Senate," according to the investigation report submitted last night at the USG Senate meeting.

"The whole reason we had the investigation was because we didn't really know the truth," said Steve Wakefield, East Halls senator.

The SARB committee decided there was "no evidence that warrants action being taken on the part of the Senate" for King and O'Rourke. However, for O'Brien the report said that "due to the testimony that arose, we had questions as to the veracity of his testimony." However all evidence was inconclusive.

Town Senator Mark Shepanski and Wakefield, who headed the investigation that began Jan. 24, had a tremendous amount of information to look over. They said they received conflicting testimony concerning whether conversations did or did not take place.

"O'Rourke made a statement that before a meeting on Jan. 15 where O'Brien resigned he was approached by O'Brien to be acting chief justice -- but O'Brien denied that statement," Wakefield said.

They also explained that part of the problem was that it is not stated anywhere that a leave of absence is permissable. The report also included a recommendation to the Legislative Appropriations Review Committee (LARC) to ammend the USG constitution so that it properly specifies the absence policy.

All copies of the investigation will eventually be on public record.