Student Government VP Impeached After Confronting Threat to Student Rights
Northern Kentucky University officials, student government members and members of the Board of Regents are embroiled in a scandal over the impeachment of former SGA Vice-President Dennis Chaney and a recent change to rules governing when and how student work can be published.
Chaney was impeached in light of a debate over a policy revision to the university’s Intellectual Property Policy. Chaney and a number of faculty members argue that the policy change, which has been approved, gives the University the right to publish student work without consent of the student.
Chaney was removed from his duties after Chaney allegedly brought student concerns over the policy to university officials without authorization from the SGA’s executive board. The impeachment charges also state that Chaney was disrespectful to the University’s Associate Legal Counsel Jay Manire — a claim Chaney and a member of the faculty senate deny.
Chaney said the policy revision could affect students' ability to enter their work in other contests for scholarship money. He cited writing competitions as an example that limits entries based on previous publication.
“The student as the originator of their work reserves the right and know if their work will be published,” Chaney said. “Harm can be done to students if their work is published without their knowledge.”
While some see this new policy change as a threat to student rights, others, such as Manire, believe it’s a way to protect student work.
Manire cited an example of a student working on a long-term project, wherein one student did not contribute fully and has since left the university. The new policy would keep from stalling the entry of the project in a contest. Manire declined to comment publicly on the debate and his ideas.
“I don’t think it’s an issue,” Manire said.
More from the Northerner at Northern Kentucky University
Issue: Student Governance and Campus Administration
