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Senate censures Union Secretary Goldman

Abstract:
Secretary Michael Goldman '08 was censured for disclosing elections tallies....

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James Sanders

posted 9/25/07 @ 1:26 PM EST

Comeon...I expect better from the Justice. The senate held such an important meeting in CLOSED session and the Justice doesn't see this as a problem? You are supposed to be advocating for open government! How do you know what deals were reached under closed session? How does a secret debate on his impeachment benefit the students? I expected at least an editorial denouncing this if not a UJ case challenging it! Back in th good old days of I don't know four years ago, the Justice would not have let this crap fly.
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Alana Granis

posted 9/25/07 @ 7:21 PM EST

It's a hard thing for me to do this but I have to come out with it. I know alot about what pretend government can hide from the public, but hear me out. I am unaffiliated with the Student government but have been investigating this issue through various channels. Here is what I know, and I ask of you to please pursue this in a meaningful manner. As James Sanders said, "how does impeachment benefit the students?"

Tamar Ariel, current senator for East Quad, asked Michael Goldman about her status in the election. It was understood to be a private matter but she had told one person who told another that eventually got to Jason Gray, Union Affairs rep who then called out Michael to the E-Board. Jason did his best to contain the problem but there was too much anger in the room. Shreeya Sinha, President of the Union, and Michael had disagreed an a variety of issues, and it was no secret. She had been looking for a way to get rid of Michael and pounced on the opportunity, thinking that this would be an easy score for her and her team.

During the Executive Session some talk was made about Michael's proposed offenses, but more talk on her side was made about how he disagreed with her and was detrimental to the function of her Cabinet.

Funny enough, when the votes came through by a thread(a 12-7 vote, one shy from the amount needed to actually impeach the Secretary), one person of interest did vote against him. Tamar Ariel. Ask her about it. Ask Michael or Jason about it, I'm sure they'll be open with the press.

Therefore, I would suggest that one look carefully into Tamar's large victory and debate whether Shreeya Sinha's paraphrased statement,"he election outcome wasn't affected, because the candidate didn't win" holds any merit. Tamar did win and if the residents of East care, they should demand a re-vote. If not, then you could make the case that Michael did not harm the student body. Nothing he said to her was written, and therefore he didn't violate elections rules. He merely made some questionable decisions that weren't in violation of the constitution. He took responsibility, so why won't she?

I suppose this breach of Executive Session will encourage the Student government to be more open in cases of shaky evidence and overwhelming politics. I believe our seal says, "truth even unto its innermost parts." That includes the blanket of closed-door politics.

Take a stand, and demand truth. Then take action. That's the first step towards true justice.
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Claire Moses

posted 9/26/07 @ 12:20 AM EST

Originally posted by

Alana Granis

 It's a hard thing for me to do this but I have to come out with it. I know alot about what pretend government can hide from the public, but hear me out. I am unaffiliated with the Student government but have been investigating this issue through various channels. Here is what I know, and I ask of you to please pursue this in a meaningful manner. As James Sanders said, "how does impeachment benefit the students?"

Tamar Ariel, current senator for East Quad, asked Michael Goldman about her status in the election. It was understood to be a private matter but she had told one person who told another that eventually got to Jason Gray, Union Affairs rep who then called out Michael to the E-Board. Jason did his best to contain the problem but there was too much anger in the room. Shreeya Sinha, President of the Union, and Michael had disagreed an a variety of issues, and it was no secret. She had been looking for a way to get rid of Michael and pounced on the opportunity, thinking that this would be an easy score for her and her team.

During the Executive Session some talk was made about Michael's proposed offenses, but more talk on her side was made about how he disagreed with her and was detrimental to the function of her Cabinet.

Funny enough, when the votes came through by a thread(a 12-7 vote, one shy from the amount needed to actually impeach the Secretary), one person of interest did vote against him. Tamar Ariel. Ask her about it. Ask Michael or Jason about it, I'm sure they'll be open with the press.

Therefore, I would suggest that one look carefully into Tamar's large victory and debate whether Shreeya Sinha's paraphrased statement,"he election outcome wasn't affected, because the candidate didn't win" holds any merit. Tamar did win and if the residents of East care, they should demand a re-vote. If not, then you could make the case that Michael did not harm the student body. Nothing he said to her was written, and therefore he didn't violate elections rules. He merely made some questionable decisions that weren't in violation of the constitution. He took responsibility, so why won't she?

I suppose this breach of Executive Session will encourage the Student government to be more open in cases of shaky evidence and overwhelming politics. I believe our seal says, "truth even unto its innermost parts." That includes the blanket of closed-door politics.

Take a stand, and demand truth. Then take action. That's the first step towards true justice.


The Justice cannot be held accountable for the information this student posted.
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Orpheus Rising

posted 9/26/07 @ 12:25 AM EST

Alana, who exactly are you to be coming out with anything? And why are you taking the Student Union's business so seriously? Might I suggest a visit to my.brandeis.edu/clubs, you might just find something to do!

And how exactly does a violation of the oath of office that each Student Union member takes provide any kind of service to the students? Oh, you're right. It doesn't.

It is the well known subject of rumor and speculation at Brandeis that Mr. Goldman is in opposition the majority opinion of nearly everything, but let us not beatify for his views and his minority status as such.

So my question for you, Ms. Granis, is who put you up to writing this? Whose friend are you?

As a self-proclaimed outsider in this situation (at least we would hope), and the Student Union as a whole, one would hope that you'd do a little bit of homework before you go posting silly things.

I would hardly call any of these events or pieces of evidence shaky, nor would I ever suggest that any of this was overwhelming. Unless maybe you just don't get out that much.

Take a stand, do your homework, don't write on open forums just because your friends ask you to defend them and then you demand truth. So get a clue, please. That's the first step towards true justice.
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Camillus

posted 9/25/07 @ 11:24 PM EST

You're incorrect in your assertion. I know someone who got a text message saying how many votes they needed to get. It was more than one person both rounds. He wanted to cover it up. Wait, I might not have ever known? I'm glad this was uncovered. It doesn't matter who he tries to blame or who was affected by the votes. Biased elections are unfair elections and using personal reasons as an escape- goat is cheap. I am disappointed that the Senate did not do anything to remove him.
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Escape- goat???

posted 9/26/07 @ 9:09 PM EST

As Goldman's trusty Escape- goat, I promise to carry him off into the sunset.

Like my fellow animal Alex, I am fairly positive that half of these comments are from Shreeya or Shreelings (especially the ones that talk about escape- goats... who else would know about me?)

Originally posted by

Camillus

 You're incorrect in your assertion. I know someone who got a text message saying how many votes they needed to get. It was more than one person both rounds. He wanted to cover it up. Wait, I might not have ever known? I'm glad this was uncovered. It doesn't matter who he tries to blame or who was affected by the votes. Biased elections are unfair elections and using personal reasons as an escape- goat is cheap. I am disappointed that the Senate did not do anything to remove him.
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Daniel Silverman

posted 9/25/07 @ 11:28 PM EST

"There have always been an incredible number of leaks from the executive office," he said. The anonymous senator agreed that this isn't the first time a secretary has given candidates insider voting information, but he couldn't offer any specific examples.

I'd like to see some evidence of this. The Union constitution does not address voter fraud and election tampering such as this because when it was written balloting was conducted on paper, in the open, and the idea of sharing vote tally data while the election was ongoing was not conceivable. When the Union moved to online elections, the system was written so that no one, not even the people running the online election would have access to vote data until the conclusion of the election. And for obvious reason: if you can find how far ahead or behind a given candidate is, you can sway a few last minute votes and swing the election.

The Chief of Elections (generally the secretary) is responsible for running his or her office ethically. It is ridiculous that the new elections software gives an individual the power to see live vote tallies. It is shameful that the secretary shared those tallies with candidates (or their friends) during an ongoing election. While impeachment may be overkill in this case, and censure is probably the correct action, resignation would have been the best outcome. If there is one thing in government that participants should have no need to doubt, it is the free and fair elections process. We already have enough trouble voting in the United States, you'd think Brandeis, on a much smaller scale, would be able to handle it.
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Concerned Citizen

posted 9/25/07 @ 11:56 PM EST

In my humble opinion, the only reasonable form of censure for this high crime and misdemeanor would be to taser Mike Goldman.
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Julius P. Butterworth

posted 9/26/07 @ 12:57 AM EST

Don't tase me, Sreeya.

It seems to me that our current Student Union government is full of corruption and nepotism. What Goldman did was obviously wrong, but the actions that followed were most definitely for political reasons. Had the infraction occurred from one of Sreeya's close advocates, this would not even be a story and I would not be posting this comment.

I would like to second Alana Grises' remarks (which Mrs. Moses comedically says the Justice is not responsible for... well duh). I have heard from some sources that it was Sreeya that in fact broke the very rule that Goldman was accused of, sending out information to others regarding closed door sessions that should have been private.

It is obvious that we cannot trust our Student Union. They are a bunch of cliquey personas who feel they are more important than the rest of our student body. The funniest part is how seriously everyone takes themselves. This is certainly not the first time that I've read of corruption within our Student Union on the pages of this publication, and I'm sure it will not be the last.

Leave these forms of backstabbing and petty rivalries to high school Lindsey Lohan "Mean Girls". This and the tragic death of Alex the Parrot is making me very upset.
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Jason, Michael

posted 9/26/07 @ 1:07 AM EST

The following statement was co-written by Jason Gray, Director of Union Affairs, and Michael Goldman, Union Secretary, in an attempt to state the fact regarding false accusations and liable in the post by Alana Granis:

"We disagree about a lot, particularly in this case, but we agree upon one thing:

Tamar Ariel did not ask about the results of the election, did not know about the results of the election, and was not told about the results of the election, until after the election was over.

Alana's comments are far from any truth, and we request that this message board does not become a place for false rumors and baseless accusations any more than is already has."
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Jehuda Reinharz

posted 9/26/07 @ 1:12 AM EST

Arm the police with guns, I say!
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Jacob Cohen

posted 9/26/07 @ 1:25 AM EST

I'm outraged by this conspiracy against Mike Goldman--he couldn't have leaked the results, he was with me that night!
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Igor Pedan

posted 9/26/07 @ 1:32 AM EST

Claire,

It's a public forum so the Justice is only accountable as a moderator and not to the facts the post had. That said, as a former news editor of the Justice, I do suggest that you check the facts out and perhaps assign (or write yourself) a follow up article reporting factually on what is alleged in the post.

Remember, as news editor your job is not to be friends with anyone in the Union but to rather a bane of their existence. They must feel that whenever they slip you'll catch them and write an article about. Your job is to keep them honest and to accurately inform your readers of what their student government is doing (among other things).
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Bernie Yack

posted 9/26/07 @ 1:35 AM EST

Goldman stole my Stradivarius
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Gordie

posted 9/26/07 @ 8:37 AM EST

Dudes, why can't we all just get along? There's like enough hate and war in the world already. You all need to chill out like totally, man.
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Dana P. Walker

posted 9/26/07 @ 10:51 AM EST

I highly disagree with the theory that this is a conspiracy against Michael Goldman. Any person with political power has the responsibility and obligation to conduct themselves in an ethical, transparent manner. Goldman violated our (student body's) trust, he was conniving in his ways to avoid resignation and has proved himself a poor example of an ethically and socially responsible citizen.

I doubt that Shreeya Sinha would use this opportunity to simply get rid of someone she has a personal agenda against. The facts are loud and clear, he showed a blatant disregard for the constitution. I hope that no political leader would want such a person on their team and am glad Shreeya Sinha and the Student Union has taken action. I hope that they continue to manage Goldman and ensure that he has as little authority over student issues as possible.
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upset

posted 9/26/07 @ 11:55 AM EST

I heard many rumors about what happened Sunday night behind closed doors. Most of them are irrelevant and contradicting. Only one bothers me. The Justice reported that "only 12 of the necessary 13 Union officials voted in favor of holding an impeachment vote" I was told Monday afternoon that the 6 people who voted against Secretary Goldman's impeachment were none others than his close friends. Specifically Goldman's suitemate and Ziv Quad Senator, his girlfriend and Foster Mods Senator, and other old senate buddies (class of 08 and 09 Senators).
I wonder how many of THEM he also helped during the election?
I believe in democracy and crave to trust the Senate. But if this is true, then I don't know what to believe anymore.
I urge the Justice to look into this!!
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Shirley Bernard

posted 9/26/07 @ 1:53 PM EST

Is it just me, or does Mike Goldman somewhat resemble Alex the Parrot?
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Alex D. Parrot

posted 9/26/07 @ 4:53 PM EST

SQUAWK!! Goldman want a cracker? SQUAWK! My question, as a parrot, is how many people on this forum are Shreeya's minions or Shreeya herself? SQUAWK!
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Lester Holmes

posted 9/29/07 @ 4:08 PM EST

You guys have done a terrible thing--you have driven Mike Goldman so crazy that he is now going to parties and taking his shirt off in front of strangers... without having had a drink... seriously.
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