USF Senate discussion about ethics investigation on student body pres and VP delayed
Student body president Suryakanth Prasad Gottipati delivered a presidential update to the Student Government (SG) Senate on Tuesday night, thanking graduating senators and talking about this semester’s events, such as the death of basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim.
But his speech failed to address one thing – a contract signed by Gottipati and student body vice president Sumit Jadhav to swap roles.
Related: USF SG leaders signed contract to switch positions – The Oracle
The contract states Gottipati would resign at the end of the fall semester. Jadhav would then become the president, following the order of succession, and appoint Gottipati to the vice president position.
While Senate President Jackson Jones said they initially planned to discuss an investigation into the contract on Tuesday, the SG Supreme Court ordered the Senate to pause its proceedings until it decides if it can be brought to the Senate floor.
The ongoing investigation is being carried out by the Senate’s Ethics Committee.
“My hands are tied,” Jones said during the meeting. “In no way will we be talking or looking at the [investigation] today.”
The court has not made an official decision, SG Supreme Court Chief Justice Vincent Milianta said during the meeting.
Usually, an investigation would come to the Senate after the Ethics Committee finalizes a report with its findings. Then, senators would develop a course of action.
Jones said he wanted to bring the investigation to the Senate floor early rather than being discussed by only one committee due to its magnitude.
“I had believed that the process, since it was so time sensitive and since it was on such a massive scale, that it should just be seen by the Senate as a whole,” Jones said during an interview.
Jones said he cleared his decision to bring the investigation to the Senate with Ethics Committee Chair Venkata Rupesh Konduru before announcing the meeting agenda.
He said his ability to bring the investigation to the Senate floor is a gray area in the SG statutes since it doesn’t explicitly say he can or cannot do it.
Though some former SG officials expressed concerns about the ethical implications of the contract, Jones had previously told The Oracle it doesn’t violate SG statutes.
Legislative officers are required by the statutes (404.4.3. and 405.3.1.) to serve in their roles during the “summer, fall and spring semesters continuously.” However, this regulation does not apply to the president and vice president positions.
Gottipati also told The Oracle in a statement that him and Jadhav never had the intention to switch roles.
Related: Meet USF’s new student body president and vice president – The Oracle
Jones apologized to the Senate members for being unable to discuss the agenda item.
“I’m sorry for bringing that up to you guys and having to backtrack it,” he said.
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