Judicial Board impeaches Class of 2007 Treasurer

Katie Paul Staff Writer

The Vassar Student Association (VSA) Judicial Board impeached Class of 2007 Treasurer Nick Hormuth on Monday, April 10 for dereliction of duty. Hormuth had been indicted at the VSA Council meeting the previous night, which he did not attend despite prior notification of the planned motion for indictment. Class of 2007 President Matthew Morse presented the case against him at the indictment and the hearing, aided by written statements from other members of the Class of 2007 Council.
In response to the impeachment, Hormuth said, “I am innocent against the charges that were made. It was a pleasure serving our class as treasurer.”

Morse argued during the hearing that the workload of the other Class of 2007 Council members had dramatically increased as a result of Hormuth’s frequent absences and refusals to comply with Council decisions. “In light of events that occurred over the course of the last few weeks, having no treasurer would be better than having [Hormuth] as treasurer,” said Morse.

Morse noted incidents at the Seven Deadly Sins party that led to confrontations between Hormuth and other class officers. Hormuth allegedly refused to conclude the seventh floor events during Seven Deadly Sins on time and proceeded to “push officers aside and plug in equipment that was being disassembled,” specifically a movie screen and some audio equipment, according to Morse.

When Hormuth was indicted at the April 9 VSA Council meeting, Morse said, “We told him, ‘We have to clean up,’ and he didn’t listen, so we started turning off the equipment and then he would push us aside and plug the equipment back in or start the music again.”

Hormuth termed the accusations against him “inconsistencies and untruths” in his testimony on April 10. He did not deny that he had missed meetings, but argued, “When you have two papers due the next day, you have to look at what becomes a priority.”

Hormuth also said that the other class officers had been unsupportive of his work at Seven Deadly Sins, accusing them of impatiently anticipating the event’s end and promptly dismantling it when the designated end time arrived. Morse testified in response that he was suffering stomach flu that night, and had been eager to rest.

Hormuth brought five peers to the hearing to testify on his behalf, who vouched for his commitment to the Council and the success of the events he had planned.

Hormuth also pointed out that he had received no warning from his fellow officers that they were considering indictment as a result of his actions. Judicial Board Chair Jacob Shiffrin ’07 clarified that a plaintiff was not constitutionally bound to provide the person in question with a warning.

During the VSA Council meeting, Morse said he informed Hormuth of his intentions to indict.

Afterwards, Hormuth said the hearing was unfair because members of the Judicial Board were “[Morse’s] friends and housemates.” When asked about personal connections to the Board, Morse refuted these accusations, asserting that he did not live or intend to live with anyone on the Board.