CMU's Student Government Association Senate was irresponsible and childish when it adopted a resolution Monday that deems CMU's Young Americans for Freedom chapter a hate group.

The nine senators who voted on the resolution acted in a totally inexcusable way, and they represent the worst of what has become a very questionable governmental body at CMU.

All nine should be ashamed of themselves and should offer an apology to the CMU community for acting hastily and without any evidence.

First of all, it's important to point some things out. We - this newspaper and the majority of CMU's students, YAF and non-YAF affiliated - are aware that CMU's YAF chapter is not the most popular registered student organization on this campus. Furthermore, we also are aware not many people are fond of its former president and current spokesperson - Topinabee sophomore Dennis Lennox II.

This paper gets constant negative feedback, asking us why we continue to print anything YAF and Lennox-related. It's no secret Lennox and YAF are in the minority when it comes to influencing political views.

We aren't saying we agree with the majority or the minority.

But the obvious dislike some carry for YAF and Lennox is no excuse for the SGA Senate to act the way it did.

Acting with haste

The first mistake the Senate made was to jump the gun and point an accusatory finger at YAF for a slew of anti-gay chalkings that appeared Monday in the Anspach and Pearce courtyard.

Yes, CMU's YAF has made it clear in the past they do not support homosexuality and they don't support CMU spending money annually on Pride Week. But does that automatically implicate them as the perpetrators in these hateful chalkings?

It absolutely does not, and the Senate should be kicking itself for thinking it had the power to assume that was the case.

But wait. Some senator(s) claimed they actually saw YAF members making the chalkings. Yet, when asked to comment on the record by a Central Michigan Life reporter, the Senate declined. If the senator(s) was/were so sure of what they saw, they should have had no problem going to the CMU administration, as well as commenting on the record.

But instead, the Senate acted solely on hearsay in making its very hasty decision.

Imagine if the U.S. Senate approved a resolution to impeach President George W. Bush because a couple senators "heard" he had an affair, yet zero facts were brought forward to substantiate the claims? The American public would massacre the Senate for being irresponsible.

The voice of few

The second mistake came when only nine Senators voted on the resolution. That is blatant irresponsibility, considering the Senate holds 23 seats. Currently it has 10 openings, which means of the 23, only 13 were able to vote. Of those 13, two were absent, and another two abstained from voting.

So out of a possible 23 bodies, only nine voted, with eight approving the resolution. How is it right that less than half the Senators push a resolution through?

To put this into perspective, the SGA House two weeks ago adjourned its meeting because not enough representatives were on-hand to vote on a resolution. It needed a minimum of 63 representatives to consider a resolution.

Obviously, there are only 23 senatorial seats available. But to have only nine people vote on such a politically-motivated resolution is childish.

Policy breakdown

To add to the Senate's irresponsibility, its third major offense involved senators waiving the two-week rule, a rule that makes it impossible to vote on new resolutions for at least two weeks of their being brought before the Senate. Senators waived the rule because they wanted to push the resolution through before the end of the semester, according to a Wednesday story in CM Life.

The rule most likely is instituted to remove emotion from the agenda, or at least give time for careful consideration. Senators were angered after "learning" YAF was responsible for the chalking, and they most assuredly acted on emotion and discarded the rule.

All in all, the Senate and SGA as a whole should be ashamed. The Senate voted on a unsubstantiated resolution with fewer than half its members, while at the same time waiving a rule that takes emotion out of the equation.

The nine senators should apologize immediately for their irresponsible actions. They were totally unwarranted.

Furthermore, SGA House representatives should unanimously vote down the hate group legislation heading their way.

CM Life constantly gets bombarded with feedback, asking us why we harp on SGA so much.

Honestly, we try to look for good things to write about.

But to look past its faults and not let the CMU public know what its governing body is doing wrong would be plain irresponsible.