For legality’s sake, I’m going to start this with a disclaimer: The views contained within this article are mine and mine alone, and do not represent those of Webster Cook or his affiliates in any way unless otherwise specified.
On Thursday, August 28th, Webster Cook was formally impeached and removed from his position as Senator. This represents the culmination of many weeks of arduous legal battles and emotional turmoil for Webster and his family, and Webster is left with a permanent stain on his record after an impeachment hearing that was nonobjective and patently farcical.
Those unfamiliar with the situation should learn more here.
During the week between summer classes and Fall semester, the Speaker of the Senate, President Pro Tempore and Legislative, Judicial, & Rules Committee(LJR) chairman met privately with key witnesses to question them about the incident. These conversations were transcribed and presented during the Thursday hearing as evidence. The witnesses were not under oath at the time, and later analysis found that there were numerous discrepancies between the transcriptions and the conversations themselves.
According to the Impeachment Statutes here at UCF, the defendant is explicitly guaranteed the right to cross-examine witnesses. Webster was not granted this opportunity. He wasn’t even informed that the conversations were going to be used in his hearing until the night before, giving him no time to review the evidence or examine the witnesses himself.
The Impeachment Statutes also guarantee the defendant the right to refute the charges presented against him or her, but Webster was blatantly denied this as well. The hearing was scheduled to end at 11:00 PM, and at 10:53 a senator made a motion to table debate and immediately move into voting procedures. Robert’s Rules of Order gave this motion precedence. When Webster protested, he was flatly denied the opportunity to refute the charges, being curtly informed that “we don’t have time for that.”
It seemed as though all of the senators there had an agenda. Those who were not actively attempting to destroy him appeared more interested in getting an early start on Labor Day weekend.
Webster now stands stripped of his title, picking up the pieces after a minor incident was inflated and sensationalized onto the national stage. The impeachment proceedings reeked of both indifference to Webster’s human dignity and biased intent to sacrifice his future to placate a public hungry for his blood after the ridiculous spectacle surrounding his incident.
Regrettably, such incidences of questionable integrity within college student government associations are anything but rare. In high school, student political proceedings are at least superficially monitored by responsible adults whose job it is to ensure that the rules are followed and that things stay clean. Once college rolls around, the political corruption starts; those who aren’t just in it for graduate school application padding quickly find that they can deviously pursue their own ends with impunity. There are a dedicated few, though, a few who seek to challenge the norm and facilitate progress towards a greater good.
These few are quickly punished. Webster has long been a passionate, outspoken critic of giving public money to dogmatic organizations, both religiously affiliated and not.
Here’s a quick primer:
Each UCF student pays an “Activity and Services Fee,” to the tune of $12 per credit hour. This money then goes to student government for allocation.
Explicitly religious student groups received $75,000 of public money last year alone.
Few raise an eyebrow at this, if they even care to know about it. Many senators at UCF spend their meetings batting balls of paper around, doodling, whispering casual conversation to one another, and generally being ineffective, one senator (not Webster) tells me. During one financial allocation hearing, one awe-inspiringly brilliant senator expressed credulity at the legitimacy of allowing a group of 40 people to decide things for the entire student population.
Isn’t that the very nature of the Senate?
This general level of incompetence was certainly reflected in Webster’s impeachment hearing; “it was like they were making it up as they went along,” Webster later told me. Webster’s father was also there, powerlessly left to watch as the committee flagrantly disregarded the rules. The senators didn’t even officially debate the issue, instead just dutifully following the recommendation of the LJR committee.
Interestingly, the LJR committee is comprised of just seven people, four of whom are Catholics. It is up to each individual to recuse themselves from a potential conflict of interest. Not surprisingly, none did.
Webster had a thoughtfully written statement prepared to refute the charges, but as already mentioned, he was denied this right. The three who arranged the clandestine meeting with the witnesses did so by completely disregarding the direction of the Impeachment Statutes. Webster was not allowed to cross-examine these witnesses prior to the hearing. Such are but a few examples of the mockery of justice that was Webster’s hearing.
Now, Webster is doing everything in his power to fight for his rights and do what he can to clean up this situation.
Those wishing to help Webster out are more than welcome to contact our SGA Chief Justice Jordan Axelrod at 407-823-4721 or at sga_cjus@mail.ucf.edu
Editors Note: For the back story to Crackergate, please consult the following articles: