U.C. Members Sign Petition Censuring Liston

Ten members of the Undergraduate Council signed a petition Thursday to censure council president Joshua D. Liston '95 for "misconduct" in organizing a rally last Wednesday to support Gina Grant.

According to the petition, signers believe that Liston "has misrepresented the council and his position as its president and chief spokesman."

The petition says that Liston implied that he was representing Harvard students' opinions in a press release he sent to news media on Tuesday morning.

In that release, Liston said, "I--and almost all other [Harvard] students--want to know if she was rejected because of a supposed `lie' on her application or if Harvard believes that Gina is morally suspect for something that occurred five years ago and for which she has already been punished."

In an interview late last night, Liston categorically denied that he has ever represented his views on the Grant case as being those of the council or the student body and lashed out at his accusers, who took issue with the manner in which Liston described himself in the release.

The press release reads: "Josh Liston, the President of the Harvard-Radcliffe Undergraduate Council, the student government of Harvard College, has called upon the College to re-admit Gina Grant and to specifically explain to the campus why her previous offer was rescinded."

Council member N. Van Taylor '95-'96 said Thursday that he signed the petition against Liston because he disliked Liston's conduct during the Grant controversy.

"In the last week, Josh did a lot of things that were stupid and mistakes," Taylor said. "He represented himself to the national news media using his position as president by implying that his position was supported by the U.C., the student body or both."

"He can't be using his position for his own personal campaigns," Taylor said. "It seems fairly clear that students arevery evenly split on the issue, that there is nomandate. He had no mandate, and he misrepresentedthat to the media."

The council president is elected only by hisfellow council members and not by a generalcampus-wide election. Last week Liston urged thecouncil to adopt popular elections for officers inorder to give them credibility with students andadministrators.

Council member Zamari M. Triana '98 said thatanyone unfamiliar with the council could easilymisconstrue the statement.

"The way I read the press release, it was from'Josh Liston, president of the student body,"Triani said. "Anyone who didn't know that the U.C.isn't universally respected by students would haveassumed that the statement meant that he wasspeaking for the student body. That isoverstepping his bounds."

Randall A. Fine '96, chair of the council'sstudent affairs committee, said that he receivedphone calls last week from news media who believedthe rally to be sponsored by the council.

"I was in the council office on Wednesdayafternoon and in about fifty minutes I got twentycalls from the news media asking where the studentgovernment rally was being held," Fine said.

"I asked what they were talking about, and theysaid it came over the AP wires. The reporters camebecause they thought Liston was going to speak onthe issue as the president of the U.C.," Finesaid.

Liston said that he has repeatedly been quotedin the news media as saying that he does notrepresent the council.

"I said at the rally in front of all of thecameras that I did not represent the U.C.," Listonsaid. "I have video tape of myself saying it, andthe Boston Globe even says it."

An article in the April 12 issue of the BostonGlobe reads: "The council [Liston] heads has nottaken a position on the issue."

Former council president David M. Hanselman'94-'95 said last night that Liston's actions weredesigned primarily to gain personal notoriety.

"Being U.C. president can be a powerful way tocapture attention on issues, but the press releasein question, I thought, showed Josh using hisposition on the council for nothing more thanself-promotion," Hanselman said.

"As president, he has a responsibility torepresent not only the council but also thestudents of Harvard in a conscientious fashion,"Hanselman said. "In organizing the rally for GinaGrant, he violated that principle."

At last Sunday's council meeting, Liston saidhe would not take a stand on the Gina Grant issue,linking it with his efforts to implement popularelections for council officers.

"I refuse to take a stand on the Gina Grantissue simply because I don't have a mandate,"Liston said on Sunday. "If I had been elected bythe student body, I would feel comfortablespeaking out on the issue."

Hanselman said that Liston's statements lastSunday call his actions into further question.

"I think, given those words last Sunday, hemost definitely misled the council that the GinaGrant issue wouldn't come up. He also alluded thatas the council president, it would be tempting totake a stand given all of the media attention itwould attract. I think his motives were definitelyself-serving," Hanselman said.

Hanselman said that as president he would haveacted differently.

"I definitely wouldn't have had such aknee-jerk reaction to it," Hanselman said. "Iwould have brought it up in front of the fullcouncil and gotten their approval."

Liston said that he strongly consideredbringing legislation in front of the council tosupport Grant but decided that doing so would notbe consistent with his views of the council'sauthority.

"It would have looked hypocritical for me tohave done so based on my criticism of Hanselmandoing that on the ROTC issue last semester,"Liston said. "Looks like I'm the only one who isconcerned about being a hypocrite here."

Last semester, Hanselman brought legislationbefore the council to take a stand on the ROTCcompromise. During his presidential campaign,Liston criticized that legislation saying that thecouncil didn't have the authority to representstudent views on such controversial issues.

Liston also produced a letter in which he saysHanselman used his title as council president toendorse a candidate for the directorship of theInstitute of Politics.

"As President of the undergraduate studentgovernment at Harvard College, I am writing instrong endorsement of Mickey Edwards as the newdirector of the Institute of Politics," Hanselmanwrote. "I strongly encourage you to take thisendorsement, on behalf of Harvard undergraduates,into thoughtful consideration."

Liston compared the press release to theletter. "I never said I was acting as thepresident of the U.C.," he said. "I just said Iwas the president. There's a big difference."

Hanselman said last night that no comparisoncan be made between the two incidents.

"Liston is trying to compare apples tooranges," Hanselman said.

Council member Philip R. Kaufman '98 said thatthe petition against Liston is a part of apersonal vendetta against him.

"There certainly are questions about the ethicsof what he did, but I think the censure is more ofa personal thing," Kaufman said. "I think it is apolitical move, that it is much more related topersonal animosity between council members thatwas formed long ago than about Gina Grant."

Rudd W. Coffey '97, co-chair of the council'scampus life committee (CLC), said that suchpolitical bickering will prevent the council frommaking positive accomplishments.

"I think this gets away from what the councilshould be doing," Coffey said. "Actually, thisreally pisses me off. I've been working on a lotof things all year in the CLC, and a lot of themare coming to a head right now. I'm angered thatthey are going to be overshadowed by a politicaldebate over whether a senior who is going to begone in a month did something wrong."

Censure procedure

The petition signed Thursday is in accordancewith the council's bylaws, which state that "anyten members in good standing on the council mayintroduce a motion to... censure any officer formisconduct."

The petition must then be submitted to thecouncil's vice-president, Justin C. Label '97.

Label said he received the petition Thursdaynight and promptly notified Liston after verifyingthat the signatures were valid, as specified inthe bylaws.

"It is my expectation that during that portionof the meeting Josh would step down and I wouldchair the meeting," Label said. "Then there willbe a five minute speech by the proponents of thepetition, a five minute speech by Josh and,finally, council debate."

Council parliamentarian Jason E. Schmitt '98said that the council is authorized to take twoforms of disciplinary action against councilmembers, an impeachment and a censure.

"An impeachment would remove the member fromoffice," Schmitt said. "But a censure is just anofficial reprimand."

A petition for censure requires three days ofnotice before the issue can be brought to trial,Schmitt said.

An emergency meeting of the council's executiveboard was called yesterday at which Listonrequested that the names of the members who signedthe petition be released, Label said.

Label and Schmitt decided not to release thenames.

"My understanding is that the precedent ismixed," Label said. "I'm not aware of a perfectlymatched precedent where some of the ten membershave asked that their names not be given."

"I'm not going to release the names without thesay so of the executive board or the council as awhole," Label said. "It's possible that Josh, asfinal arbiter of the constitution, could force meto, but he has not done so yet."

Liston said the debate on Sunday will settlethe issue once and for all.

"I'm going to show so many examples that I saidI was not representing the U.C.," Liston said,"that everybody is going to laugh Randy Fine andVan Taylor out of the damn room.

The council president is elected only by hisfellow council members and not by a generalcampus-wide election. Last week Liston urged thecouncil to adopt popular elections for officers inorder to give them credibility with students andadministrators.

Council member Zamari M. Triana '98 said thatanyone unfamiliar with the council could easilymisconstrue the statement.

"The way I read the press release, it was from'Josh Liston, president of the student body,"Triani said. "Anyone who didn't know that the U.C.isn't universally respected by students would haveassumed that the statement meant that he wasspeaking for the student body. That isoverstepping his bounds."

Randall A. Fine '96, chair of the council'sstudent affairs committee, said that he receivedphone calls last week from news media who believedthe rally to be sponsored by the council.

"I was in the council office on Wednesdayafternoon and in about fifty minutes I got twentycalls from the news media asking where the studentgovernment rally was being held," Fine said.

"I asked what they were talking about, and theysaid it came over the AP wires. The reporters camebecause they thought Liston was going to speak onthe issue as the president of the U.C.," Finesaid.

Liston said that he has repeatedly been quotedin the news media as saying that he does notrepresent the council.

"I said at the rally in front of all of thecameras that I did not represent the U.C.," Listonsaid. "I have video tape of myself saying it, andthe Boston Globe even says it."

An article in the April 12 issue of the BostonGlobe reads: "The council [Liston] heads has nottaken a position on the issue."

Former council president David M. Hanselman'94-'95 said last night that Liston's actions weredesigned primarily to gain personal notoriety.

"Being U.C. president can be a powerful way tocapture attention on issues, but the press releasein question, I thought, showed Josh using hisposition on the council for nothing more thanself-promotion," Hanselman said.

"As president, he has a responsibility torepresent not only the council but also thestudents of Harvard in a conscientious fashion,"Hanselman said. "In organizing the rally for GinaGrant, he violated that principle."

At last Sunday's council meeting, Liston saidhe would not take a stand on the Gina Grant issue,linking it with his efforts to implement popularelections for council officers.

"I refuse to take a stand on the Gina Grantissue simply because I don't have a mandate,"Liston said on Sunday. "If I had been elected bythe student body, I would feel comfortablespeaking out on the issue."

Hanselman said that Liston's statements lastSunday call his actions into further question.

"I think, given those words last Sunday, hemost definitely misled the council that the GinaGrant issue wouldn't come up. He also alluded thatas the council president, it would be tempting totake a stand given all of the media attention itwould attract. I think his motives were definitelyself-serving," Hanselman said.

Hanselman said that as president he would haveacted differently.

"I definitely wouldn't have had such aknee-jerk reaction to it," Hanselman said. "Iwould have brought it up in front of the fullcouncil and gotten their approval."

Liston said that he strongly consideredbringing legislation in front of the council tosupport Grant but decided that doing so would notbe consistent with his views of the council'sauthority.

"It would have looked hypocritical for me tohave done so based on my criticism of Hanselmandoing that on the ROTC issue last semester,"Liston said. "Looks like I'm the only one who isconcerned about being a hypocrite here."

Last semester, Hanselman brought legislationbefore the council to take a stand on the ROTCcompromise. During his presidential campaign,Liston criticized that legislation saying that thecouncil didn't have the authority to representstudent views on such controversial issues.

Liston also produced a letter in which he saysHanselman used his title as council president toendorse a candidate for the directorship of theInstitute of Politics.

"As President of the undergraduate studentgovernment at Harvard College, I am writing instrong endorsement of Mickey Edwards as the newdirector of the Institute of Politics," Hanselmanwrote. "I strongly encourage you to take thisendorsement, on behalf of Harvard undergraduates,into thoughtful consideration."

Liston compared the press release to theletter. "I never said I was acting as thepresident of the U.C.," he said. "I just said Iwas the president. There's a big difference."

Hanselman said last night that no comparisoncan be made between the two incidents.

"Liston is trying to compare apples tooranges," Hanselman said.

Council member Philip R. Kaufman '98 said thatthe petition against Liston is a part of apersonal vendetta against him.

"There certainly are questions about the ethicsof what he did, but I think the censure is more ofa personal thing," Kaufman said. "I think it is apolitical move, that it is much more related topersonal animosity between council members thatwas formed long ago than about Gina Grant."

Rudd W. Coffey '97, co-chair of the council'scampus life committee (CLC), said that suchpolitical bickering will prevent the council frommaking positive accomplishments.

"I think this gets away from what the councilshould be doing," Coffey said. "Actually, thisreally pisses me off. I've been working on a lotof things all year in the CLC, and a lot of themare coming to a head right now. I'm angered thatthey are going to be overshadowed by a politicaldebate over whether a senior who is going to begone in a month did something wrong."

Censure procedure

The petition signed Thursday is in accordancewith the council's bylaws, which state that "anyten members in good standing on the council mayintroduce a motion to... censure any officer formisconduct."

The petition must then be submitted to thecouncil's vice-president, Justin C. Label '97.

Label said he received the petition Thursdaynight and promptly notified Liston after verifyingthat the signatures were valid, as specified inthe bylaws.

"It is my expectation that during that portionof the meeting Josh would step down and I wouldchair the meeting," Label said. "Then there willbe a five minute speech by the proponents of thepetition, a five minute speech by Josh and,finally, council debate."

Council parliamentarian Jason E. Schmitt '98said that the council is authorized to take twoforms of disciplinary action against councilmembers, an impeachment and a censure.

"An impeachment would remove the member fromoffice," Schmitt said. "But a censure is just anofficial reprimand."

A petition for censure requires three days ofnotice before the issue can be brought to trial,Schmitt said.

An emergency meeting of the council's executiveboard was called yesterday at which Listonrequested that the names of the members who signedthe petition be released, Label said.

Label and Schmitt decided not to release thenames.

"My understanding is that the precedent ismixed," Label said. "I'm not aware of a perfectlymatched precedent where some of the ten membershave asked that their names not be given."

"I'm not going to release the names without thesay so of the executive board or the council as awhole," Label said. "It's possible that Josh, asfinal arbiter of the constitution, could force meto, but he has not done so yet."

Liston said the debate on Sunday will settlethe issue once and for all.

"I'm going to show so many examples that I saidI was not representing the U.C.," Liston said,"that everybody is going to laugh Randy Fine andVan Taylor out of the damn room.