On May 16, ASUCD Senator Jesse Rosales arrived intoxicated and an hour-and-a-half late to the annual ASUCD budget hearing. Due to disruptive behavior, ASUCD President Ivan Carrillo eventually asked him to leave.
In a May 22 letter addressed to the UC Davis student body, Rosales expressed regret for his actions, explaining them as the result of “a unique set of circumstances in which I succumbed to personal leisure.“
No circumstance is so unique, however, that one should place alcoholic intake before professional duty. Rosales‘ failure to properly assess his priorities is grossly disturbing and equally intolerable, and the aftermath of the incident has been no less worrisome.
After calls for a censure, the senate’s way of formally reprimanding individuals, the senate elected to hold a closed door meeting to discuss the incident last Thursday. There was no resulting censure.
This weak response raises the issue of accountability. Rosales was late, drunk and disruptive at an extremely significant function, and for him not to receive so much as a censure is dumbfounding. The ASUCD senators oversee a budget of $10.5 million, which constitutes a significant portion of their duties as elected officials.
Rosales disregarded his obligation to the student body, and the senate’s failure to issue consequences sends the message that it takes his misconduct lightly.
If the senate does not impose some sort of punishment on Rosales, then there needs to be a person or organization in place that will.
