Student Government announced Wednesday night that the impeachment of Whil Piavis will not go any further following a mandate by Tom Stafford, vice chancellor for student affairs.

Stafford sent a memorandum to officials in the governing body, freezing the impeachment process in the Government Operations commmittee — prompting a meeting this week to determine the fate of Piavis.

At the meeting, Stafford reiterated that the impeachment proceedings would not continue.

Sen. Tracy Hutcherson, chair of the committee, said the decision is “unfortunate” and that every member of the committee voiced some form of outrage regarding Stafford’s involvement.

“The committee, as a whole, feels like he has stonewalled the whole action,” Hutcherson said.

He pointed to a lack of action on behalf of administrators following last year’s voucher theft scandal and questioned the reasons behind official action at this time.

Hutcherson said when he raised the point in the meeting, administrators cited a lack of knowledge dealing with the charges and processes taking place.

During the events leading up to the impeachment process, the Senate added two additional senators to the committee. Before the addition, more than half the officials in the committee were either primary or secondary sponsors of the impeachment resolution.

The committee’s role in the process deals with hearing from the accused parties and revising the specifications and making recommendations to the full Senate for censure, removal from office or the suspension of a stipend.

The role is important, Student Senate President Forrest Hinton said, but not the most important.

Hinton, a junior in mathematics education and political science, said the most important step in the process occurs when the bill goes to the Senate — allowing the full body to make decisions regarding impeachment and removal from office.

“I believe Dr. Stafford was trying to put an end to the impeachment,” Hinton said, explaining that regardless of feelings surrounding the current situation, students should have the right to elect and impeach their own leaders.

Hinton said he did not think the timing of the impeachment proceedings was productive, but he said it accurately mirrors federal government — citing the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton as he neared the end of his term.

Stafford said he contacted legal counsel for advice, but it was the counsel that raised concerns regarding the legality of the proceedings.

“The Government Operations committee[‘s] considering the resolution demonstrates a clear conflict of interest, when the prosecuter will also be the judge,” Stafford said.

He said he intended to give Piavis adequate time to prepare his response and sought to add two additional senators to the current committee to level the playing field.

Since elections are set for next week and the new student leaders will be taking office in April, Stafford said he plans to work with next year’s leaders to examine proceedings in Student Government.