Anticipating impeachment, Nadel resigns

Under threat of impeachment, College junior Mike Nadel resigned from the Student Activities Council Finance committee last night. Also at last night's SAC meeting, the SAC body elected four new Finance committee members, recognized several new groups and voted on funding requests from others. Nadel, who is a Daily Pennsylvanian columnist, said his resignation was prompted by a letter from SAC Finance committee members that threatened to bring articles of impeachment against him if he did not step down. "The members of SAC Finance were pleased with my decision to resign," he said. But Nadel said he doubted that an impeachment effort would have been successful. "I would have beaten the impeachment," he said. "I was not forced out." He added that he resigned so that his presence on the SAC Finance committee would not disrupt its functions. "I think that SAC Finance will be able to function a lot better this semester without having to deal with the division that my presence might have created," he said. The SAC Finance committee wanted Nadel's resignation because of his constitutional reform plans -- which call for the dissolution of SAC Finance and the transfer of its powers to a new body, according to Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson and Wharton junior Dan Debicella. Nadel said he will now be able to devote more time to the reform efforts, on which he is working closely with UA representative Dan Schorr, a College senior. "We all are here to do what is best for the students," Nadel said in his resignation speech to the body. "I hope we can all work together for a better way of life for undergraduates here." Debicella, who has submitted reform plans that differ dramatically from Nadel's and Schorr's, said he felt Nadel's resignation was appropriate. "He made the right decision," Debicella said. "He was in a very sticky situation of being on a body he wanted to abolish. A lot of people involved in student government had problems with [Nadel's position]." After Nadel announced his resignation, SAC Steering Committee Chairperson Richard Chow said the Finance Committee elections would allocate four seats -- not three, as was originally planned. Six candidates each presented a brief position statement to the SAC body and answered questions from SAC representatives. Wharton junior Dario Schiraldi, College and Wharton sophomore David Shapiro and College freshmen Steve Schorr and Paul Welfer were elected to the committee. Shapiro, who had already served on the Finance committee for the previous year-long term, said he was glad to be back. "I'm happy to be re-elected," he said. "I'm looking forward to serving again." Schorr, who is also a reporter for the DP, said he was looking forward to his term on the committee. "I'm pleased that I'll be able to participate in student government and to try and see that organizations receive a fair amount of money," he said. The SAC body also voted on recognition and funding recommendations proposed by the Steering and Finance committees. Except for deciding to recognize the Bio-Med Research Society -- a move which SAC Steering had not recommended -- the body followed the Steering Committee's suggestions. The assembly also recognized Awareness of International Markets, the First Amendment Task Force, Facilitating Learning About Sexual Health and Generation XX. However, SAC denied recognition to the Wharton Europe Club. The body approved most of the recommended financial allocations as well. Arts House Dance, Composers of U Penn, Generation XX, Interracial Coalition to End Discrimination, the Reach-A-Peer Line, Students Against Acquaintance Rape, TEACH West Philadelphia, and WQHS-AM all received their recommended funds from the SAC assembly. But Red and Blue, a magazine which has been accused of racial and gender bias, was denied any money from SAC. During debate on the question of funding Red and Blue, SAC representatives said they felt denying the magazine funding would indicate their disapproval of several of the articles the magazine has printed recently.

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