"I was elected by the student body to represent their interests and to take actions that would make Amherst a better place for us all," said Summerville in her statement. "I have done my best to live up to that duty this year. However, I was not elected to submit myself to hostile and degrading treatment by any other member of the SGO."
"I am saddened by her decision to leave," said Assistant Dean of Students Sam Haynes, who oversees the SGO. "She did a great service to the students of Amherst."
SGO president Michelle Oliveros-Larsen '02 emphasized the difficulty of having conflict between SGO members. "When Senate or e-board members are publicly unsupportive of a particular member, that's difficult and personal … but the nature of the work can be personal."
"A productive SGO requires open, respectful dialogue among its members, which at times require principled disagreement," Summerville's statement continues. "Leadership which views all dissent as a personal attack and which responds with hostile and vengeful confrontation can only further paralyze an organization."
"There's been dissent all year long; for it to be an issue today and not four months ago, that's startling," said Oliveros-Larsen.
"I fully support Amy's resignation," said Anishah Cumber '02, SGO corresponding secretary. "The working dynamic of this year's executive council has certainly been a difficult one and, while the problems with student government are not confined to the executive council, we cannot ignore the fact that much of the difficulties encountered by this year's SGO are due to leadership problems at the highest levels."
"I agree with Amy that under the current leadership, dissent among members is not always dealt with in a constructive and respectful way," Cumber added.
Freshman Senator David Babbott '05 said that he did "not ever feel victim to 'hostile and degrading' treatment as a member of the SGO. In fact, I've felt welcomed and the SGO members I know are incredibly dedicated and great."
"I've observed behavior that was unprofessional and personal both on and off the senate floor and this has been disappointing to me and embarrassing to the SGO," said Senator Jun Matsui '03.
Matsui has been involved with drafting the new SGO constitution. "The current constitution allows for this [unprofessional and personal behavior] somewhat because it puts power in the hands of so few people and these people will almost inevitably vie for power," she said. "The new constitution institutes more checks and balances to create a more balanced structure that will better represent the students as a whole."
Summerville's statement explained her reasons for resigning. "At a school that prides itself on its student body and on the respect we all have of different viewpoints, the student government should be the best embodiment of those ideals," said Summerville in her statement. "This year, however, the Senate has been marked by personal politics and bitter rancor and has lost sight of the very reason why we were elected: to make the College a better place."
"Things have definitely been rocky in the SGO this year," said Senator Julie Babayan '03. "But, to be fair, it wasn't so much about individual leadership as it was about the fact that we were operating under a really lousy constitution."
Babbott agreed that many of the present SGO's problems have been the result of a poor constitution. "I think that the student government at Amherst is severely hampered by the current structure of the SGO and of the constitution," he said. "It is set up in a way that does not insulate the professional responsibilities of SGO members from any personal feelings they may have."
"Any student government will have bad relationships between a few of its members," added Babbott. "But, because the current Amherst system unwisely depends on good personal relationships as a prerequisite for good working relationships, parts of the SGO, with the e-board in particular, have a high potential for ineffective working relationships. A change must be made in the structures and methods of student government at Amherst before these problems have a chance of disappearing."
According to Babbott, the working draft of the new SGO constitution would assuage some of these problems by giving SGO members clearer responsibilities, expectations and limitations.
Because any new vice president's time in office would be so brief, the SGO is soliciting applications from the student body for the position. The Senate will vote on the candidates whom they will appoint to the position in the next few weeks.