2008 Woodie Awards
Cook kicked from SGA Senate
Voting took place minutes before the meeting had to end
Jeffrey Riley
Issue date: 8/29/08 Section: News
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With only minutes remaining, the motion to vote passed. The meeting was set to end at 11 p.m., and could not have gone any later.
The Senate was set to vote on three different charges, however it only took a two-thirds vote on any one of the three to remove Cook from office.
Cook was found guilty of the second charge. The charge was for misfeasance, which is defined by SGA as a lawful act performed in a wrongful manner by a Student Government official in execution of his or her duties.
The vote on the charge of misfeasance was 22-7-1 against Cook. After the vote was tallied, Cook was officially removed from office.
Previous to the vote on misfeasance, the Senate voted on the first charge.
The first charge against Cook was for malfeasance, which is defined by SGA as a wrongful act performed by a Student Government official in execution of his or her duties or the willful disregard of Student Body Statutes or the Constitution.
That vote was 7-22-1.
The third charge was conflict of interest. That charge was not voted on, as it was unnecessary after the second charge was passed.
Cook said he will appeal the decision.
Cook's father, Brian Cook, was in the audience for the trial.
Brian Cook said he was upset about the decision. He said the charges against his son were a part of a political vendetta, and there were many problems with trial.
"In a real court, with real rules, the outcome would have been a lot different," Brian Cook said.
Pick up a copy of the Central Florida Future on Wednesday for in-depth coverage of the final impeachment hearing.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 23
spenserslover
James
posted 8/29/08 @ 1:29 AM EST
What was the reason for the charge? What event(s) led to him being charged with this in the first place? I feel like this article is incomplete.
Jeffrey Riley - Online News Editor
posted 8/29/08 @ 7:46 AM EST
This was an online breaking news story.
You can read the timeline of events that lead to this hearing here:
http://media.www.centralfloridafuture. (Continued…)
Jamie
posted 8/29/08 @ 8:26 AM EST
How tragic. I'm very disappointed in the Student Senate for voting to remove Mr. Cook from his elected seat. This entire situation was overblown and ridiculous from the start. (Continued…)
Claire
posted 8/29/08 @ 1:37 PM EST
I couldn't be happier with the results. Finally removed!
Rebecca
posted 8/29/08 @ 2:06 PM EST
Thank goodness he was removed! He was a real nut job!
Raymond
posted 8/29/08 @ 2:33 PM EST
This "trial" was nothing short of a witchhunt against Mr. Cook by Logan Berkowitz and his cronies. UCF has a lot of problems. Offending grownups who believe in fairy tales isn't one of them. (Continued…)
Ben B.
posted 8/29/08 @ 3:15 PM EST
I'm sorry to insult the two people who commented above me, as well as the 22 people who voted in favor of Cook's removal, but what the SGA has done is unfounded and unintelligent. (Continued…)
Patricia
posted 8/29/08 @ 3:55 PM EST
Webster acted in a way that was disrespectful to most reasonable people. The conditions for accepting the Eucharist is to consume it immediately.This is not a minor altercation about a "wafer". (Continued…)
Jennifer
posted 8/29/08 @ 4:06 PM EST
This paper has been in totally support of Cook the entire time it has been reporting the incident. He was not trying to tell his friend he was just being an ass and got caught and then tried to cover himself by telling a sad story in hopes that someone will feel bad for him and take his side. (Continued…)
Matthew O'Neil
posted 8/29/08 @ 4:43 PM EST
Fantastic news.
As an alumni and donor to UCF I am quite relieved that the SGA had taken decisive action to excise the public spectacle that Webster Cook created. (Continued…)
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