UA members attempt to impeach Debicella

and Betty Yuan Several members of the Undergraduate Assembly attempted to impeach Wharton junior Dan Debicella as chairperson of the body last night. But after failing to get a petition of nine signatures needed for the impeachment, those leading the effort decided to disband it. Discussions surrounding the impeachment took place in small, closed groups after a general, public meeting held by the UA last night. Although the UA as a full body did not agree on a single course of action to take, some UA members said they can move past the incident. "We still have the petition but we are not taking action on it," UA member and Engineering junior Sundeep Goel said. "Hopefully, we won't have to." College senior Dan Schorr agreed, saying, "it's always an option but at this point it's not being pushed forward." UA member and College junior Eric Tienou showed support for Debicella. "I think [Debicella] can still adequately serve as chair," Tienou said. "What happened tonight made people aware of the problems we had?a lot of good can come from this." Goel said Debicella plans to meet with each UA representative individually, in an attempt to repair his relationship with the members. Debicella said last night the impeachment attempt can have a positive effect. "We've worked out differences," he said. "It's been a learning experience to make sure what is really important to people." UA member and College sophomore Laurie Moldawer said communication will be the key as Debicella attempts to work out those differences. "Communication is going to have to be all-inclusive," she said, in order for the body to work together again. The attempted impeachment came after several UA members accused Debicella of repeatedly lying to the body about several issues. "It was definitely more than one time," UA member and College junior Lance Rogers said. "I don't trust him now [but] I hope one day I can." Schorr agreed, saying he does not trust Debicella either and does not know if the body as a whole could trust its chairperson. Debicella said last night that he "misled the body on certain occasions." "I think this is the larger part of my mistake," he said. "It's something I thought would keep the body unified at all costs?but it's not." Though the attempted impeachment was solely discussed after the open, regular meeting, the meeting itself was controversial because of mysterious lapses, parliamentary procedural breakdown and constitutional ignorance. Twice during the meeting, Debicella called for a caucus in which members met in small private groups to discuss public issues brought up at the meeting. And the assembly discussed the issue of having a closed communications session at the end of every small group meeting. Engineering sophomore Manuel Calero motioned to suspend the assembly's by-laws, which state that a quorum of 13 members constitutes a fully public, open meeting. As the body was about to vote on that motion, Daily Pennsylvanian Executive Editor Jordana Horn made a point of inquiry, asking if the UA's constitution prohibited all closed meetings. "Not to my knowledge," Debicella said in response. A three-minute break was required to find the constitution, which no member had in his possession. After reading the document, Debicella admitted that he "made a mistake," and that Calero's motion was thereby unnecessary. Although the bylaws can be suspended by a two-thirds vote, the UA constitution can only be amended by a referendum put to the student body. Closed communications sessions started last fall under the leadership of former UA chairperson and College senior Seth Hamalian.