Like former U.S. President Bill Clinton, USG President Robert “B.J.” Schuerger is currently under fire for personal failings and is being unofficially and indirectly charged with theft and a misuse of his power. In his quest for political success, B.J. has avoided, dodged, and shifted accusations against him. Though the wrongdoings of USG and its president are not yet clear, it is abundantly apparent that B.J. and his staff have no interest in the betterment of OSU or its students.
The fact that B.J. decided to give his chief-of-staff, Keller Blackburn, a salary doesn’t bother me. Sure, I think he should have consulted with the University Senate first, but many schools provide a stipend for their chiefs-of-staff, and I don’t think there is anything inherently wrong with that. Even the $400 Mitchell’s Steakhouse episode is forgivable – if that was the worst thing that came out of his tenure, I could live with that. It was a mistake, yes, but perhaps unfairly blown up.
No, what bothers me about B.J. has nothing to do with the recent criticism he is under and everything to do with how he’s handled himself in the last week. He asked for the resignation of Blackburn, and more notably, on Sunday, he asked Vice President Juan Cespedes to resign as well. B.J.’s reasoning for this was that Cespedes was the instigator, or at least a driving force, behind the now infamous Lantern thefts, where thousands of Lanterns covering the USG scandal were mysteriously stolen.
But let’s think about this logically: Though USG is implicated in financial misconduct, Cespedes himself has not, to my knowledge, been singled out for any offense. Furthermore, he is not even running with B.J. in the upcoming election, and therefore has little incentive to do something so immoral, and in fact, illegal. What happened, I suppose, is that Cespedes agreed to be B.J.’s scapegoat – he agreed to take the fall on the Lanterns and allow B.J. to come off as authoritative, stern, and presidential, so B.J. could exonerate himself of any blame. It is, most likely, a very calculated, very political move. The kind of thing we’re used to seeing in national elections, but which is just not appropriate in student-run undergraduate government.
Recently, many proposals that may drastically alter the current state of OSU have emerged. Among them include the tuition hike and the shift from quarters to semesters. USG has many other more important ways to spend its time than to immerse itself in political turmoil and petty personal warfare.
B.J. receives the cost of full tuition for serving as student body president. He is also paid a living stipend. But he has an extraordinary amount of responsibility as well, and I certainly would not want to deal with the bureaucracy and the time commitment he is forced to endure.
The problem here isn’t what he is or is not doing effectively as our president – that’s what the election will decide. The problem, I think, is the lack of respect he seems to have for the students who entrusted him with this job and for the Senators and other officials he works with. B.J. made some mistakes, fine, but he has not owned up to them and admitted that he employed bad judgment. Now, because he is trying to maneuver this entire scandal as effectively as he can so it will not hinder him in the future, he is forever tainting USG.
I don’t know B.J., so I can’t deduce his thought process or speculate on whether he is remorseful over the events of the past week. But I do know that he is shrewd. He is a politician. This job is merely a stepping stone to higher ambitions.
The vast majority of OSU students do not vote in student elections. Many aren’t even familiar with USG. And this is why it has turned into, as a friend of mine called it, an elite club instead of a representative governing body. It has become a place for students with political aspirations instead of for students who want to improve the quality of life here at Ohio State.
All B.J. had to do was admit making some poor decisions and let the Lantern run its story without interfering. People do not mind flawed leaders; they mind dishonest ones. He was so busy being president that he forgot just to be our president: to lead. He has damaged the credibility of USG not just because of a seemingly improper use of funds, but because of the massive scrutiny it now faces. Now, he must get to work and begin repairing that damage.
Sarah Topy is a sophomore in political science who can be reached at [email protected].
