A group of bipartisan Undergraduate Student Government senators and state legislators held a press conference Tuesday calling for the resignation of Ohio State Board of Trustees member Brian Hicks.

Students, administrators, and local media gathered in the USG office to listen to USG Speaker of the Senate Nick Benson and others share their thoughts on the controversy surrounding Hicks.

Hicks, former chief of staff to Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, was convicted of an ethics law violation for failing to disclose his acceptance of trips to the Florida home of coin dealer and GOP party contributor Tom Noe as a gift.

Benson said this issue has implications for Ohio State and for the future of the state of Ohio.

“The motto of this great university is education for citizenship, and this issue is one of paramount importance in defining the duties and responsibilities that encompass good citizenship,” Benson said. “People deserve honest leaders and honest government and when a leader chooses to betray those values, they must be held accountable.”

Benson introduced House Democratic Leader Rep. Chris Redfern, D-Catawba Island, as a “friend and an ally to the students of The Ohio State University.”

“I and members of my caucus and Republican legislators, including Sen. Tim Grendell and so many others, have been pushing for Hicks to do the right thing for the students and the university and step down,” Redfern said.

Redfern said he is formally calling on university leadership to weigh in on the subject. He said he recognizes that President Karen A. Holbrook has no power to appoint Board of Trustees members, but has an obligation to stand up for what is right.

“(Holbrook) has spoken publicly about the behavior of some OSU fans at recent football games. Now it’s time for her to speak out publicly about the behavior of the Board of Trustees,” Redfern said. 

He said the primary question at hand is whether OSU would have minimum standards for board members to abide by.

Redfern recently introduced legislation that will ban anyone who has contributed to a political party or state office candidate in the previous year from becoming a Board of Trustees member at a public college or university.

Steve Miller, senator for Undergraduate Student Academic Services and Exploration, created the Web site www.hicksmustgo.com and co-sponsors the USG resolution caling for Hicks’ resignation. The resolution is up for vote tonight at the USG Senate meeting.

Miller said people should pay attention to what Hicks has not been doing.

“It wasn’t until several editorials from The Lantern and the efforts of www.hicksmustgo.com that Mr. Hicks had explained himself in a Lantern (letter to the editor,)” Miller said. “That to me speaks volumes of what the power of silence can do.”

Miller said everyone, including tailgaters, athletes, students and faculty, must play by the rules.

“It’s unfortunate that within a year and a half into his nine-year term on the board that he has not done that,” Miller said.

In statements prior to the press conference, Benson said USG president Suz Scharer has demonstrated unwillingness to take a position on the Hicks issue.

Scharer said the issue of ethics in the community is an issue that perhaps needs greater attention than the Hicks controversy.

“Over the course of the year, we will continue to address ethics in all aspects of our culture, in business, in politics, in our university and in our daily lives, while still meeting other pertinent rising student issues,” Scharer said.

“I do not support the politicization of this issue, but rather I support the open dialogue and the greater issue of ethics within our community,” she said.

“This is an instance where reasonable people will come to different conclusions. Being in the field of higher education and being a student right now, I’ve made it a greater priority, along with (the Inter-Professional Council) and (the Council of Graduate Students,) to foster education on the matter and how we, as a community, can learn from rising ethical situations. Also, with IPC and CGS, I recognize that true ethical reform needs to come through the legislature, thus supporting the passage of State Bill 168.”

Introduced in August by Ohio Sen. Tim Grendell, State Bill 168 aims to prohibit current or former state officials and employees convicted of misdemeanor ethics violations from serving as any instrumentalities for five years, or forever if the violation is a felony.

Scharer, who did not attend the press conference, said that the press conference was entirely sponsored by Benson and his campaign.

“I was neither invited nor informed of the event from Nick,” Scharer said. “While this issue has surfaced in Senate, I have maintained my commitment to this and other current responsibilities within the university.”