Joe Ruiz, president of the Student Government Association, resigned last Friday citing a disagreement with some members of the executive board for expressing homophobic opinions in the office. Ruiz also accused members of forming a clique and avoiding accountability with their jobs.
Ruiz, who is openly gay, disagrees with a member of the board who placed a sign on their office door stating that “marriage equals one man, one woman.”
“I’m not saying walk on glass around everyone, you have a right to your personal views. Just don’t seem like you’re causing division,” Ruiz said. “The gay member will say, ‘Hmm, it doesn’t seem like you’re trying to work with me no matter how much I’m trying to get everyone to work together.’
“I think certain people have problems with somebody being above them, being gay. I’m gay. I don’t need to put up with gay comments or anything like that where stupid people are putting stuff up to divide the SGA when it was supposed to be about team building,” Ruiz said.
Jason Ellertson, the new president, moved from vice president to fill the vacancy left by Ruiz. Ellertson said the particular sign was just one of several political signs that were hung on SGA office doors in the weeks prior to the election.
“This is an area where free speech is encouraged. Now they’re down cause the election is over,” Ellertson said.
Ruiz also said that he has had a number of issues with three members of the six-person board. He said that members have formed a clique with secret meetings and have attempted to avoid job accountability.
“It irritates me when you have people who, honestly, sit in their offices all day and do nothing except study. And granted, maybe one or two people did a lot for homecoming, but the rest of the time they are there, they just sit in their office, ” Ruiz said.
Ruiz also said that he believes “50 percent (of the executive board) care what happens at this school; 50 percent care what happens to themselves.”
Dean of students and SGA adviser Don Turney said that he believed any disagreements between members were typical of student governments across the country.
“What I have noticed is that they are pretty typical of a student government board of any college campus in America. They have a diversity of political opinions, thoughts, feelings and they’re not afraid to express them, so as far as divisions go, I really don’t think there’s anything that is out of hand or undue,” Turney said.
According to Turney, there was a meeting on Oct. 21 during which a vote of “no confidence” was cast against Ruiz’s leading abilities by the senate and executive board.
Neither Ellertson nor Ruiz would say who put up the “one man, one woman” marriage sign.
According to the SGA constitution, the vacant position of vice president will be picked by Ellertson and approved by the senate.
– Staff writers Victor Garcia and Daniella Williams contributed to this story.