Hard feelings continue to smoulder over the performance of an Associated Students, Inc. board member who resigned last semester and, critics say, left his post in such disarray that most policy making committees on campus lack student input.

The tension surfaced after an article published in the Mar. 20 issue of The State Hornet quoting recently-appointed Vice President of University Affairs Lisanne Nakayama.

In that article, Nakayama said that her predecessor, Calvin Davis, had failed to recruit students for 40?50 committees that decide everything from parking policy to student fees.

Luke Wood, who also serves on the board as Director of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, responded to Nakayama?s remarks in a post to The State Hornet?s Web site.

“Statements by Lisanne in this article are complete bull s–t! This article is full of half-truths and lies. Instead of bashing Calvin who is a true representative of the students why doesn?t Lisanne do something for ASI?!”

Nakayama defended her remarks, saying that the state of the committees speak for themselves.

“They are like this because they have been neglected,” she said, pointing to a stack of manila envelopes on her desk.

The envelopes, she said, contain the names of student committee appointees, committee meeting times and issue information. She said that Davis left them undelivered after his sudden departure last semester.

“I don?t even know how to get a hold of some of these people who were appointed. There was no information about them left for me,” Nakayama said.

Davis claims to have had 75?80 percent of the committees filled before the semester started last fall.

“There are records of the appointed students in the ASI office,” Davis said in a telephone interview arranged through Luke Wood.

ASI President Artemio Pimentel said that students had been assigned on paper to committees but they were not notified.

“They were filled, but all he did was plug names into the slots and students were not aware of this,” Pimentel said. “I knew about this.

I knew he had names filled in, but that?s all they were ? just names.”

Nakayama said she attempted to contact Davis to ask him about the status of the committees and claims to have never received a call back.

“I don?t recall getting a call from Lisanne,” Davis said. “Maybe my cell phone didn?t recognize the number.”

Davis said the main reason he left the ASI board was “due to a lot of bad communication between me and Pimentel.”

“Art would do stuff like make appointments for committees and not tell me about it,” Davis said. “Art would also put my name on appointment letters and legislation without my knowledge.”

Pimentel said that he and Davis would always discuss the committee appointments together.

“I was at liberty to appoint someone, but it never happened without Davis knowing about it,” Pimentel said. “What Calvin claims never happened, because it was always a collaborative effort between the two of us.”

Senior Brendan Wonnacott said that Davis put him on a committee even after he declined to serve on one.

“I told him I was not interested and he just signed me up for three committees,” Wonnacott said. “I had to later go through (board associate) Rita (Tyk) to get my names off them. When Calvin was appointing people, he would call them up late at night, like at 10 or 11 p.m.”

Senior Joe Devlin said Davis also “volunteered” him for a committee position.

“Calvin is cool, but he is not ASI?s shining star,” Devlin said. “He is not a good example of student leadership. I was apparently signed up to be in a committee that I wasn?t aware of.”

Devlin said he wasn?t surprised by Nakayama?s remarks.

“I took Calvin?s place when he left the Director of SSIS position and I would not have served unless Calvin had left the position,” he said.

Devlin recalls that the director position he took had been “vacant in every way imaginable.”

“It was evident that nothing had really been done,” he said. “A board position is what you make of it. He had left it with no goals or plans.”

Davis said he left former ASI President Jason Bryant?s administration two years ago because he didn?t know why he had chose to serve on the position.

“I left them because I didn?t know what I was there for,” Davis said. “I probably should have looked into it.”

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