As winter approaches, the temperature begins to drop and it gets darker out earlier and earlier. Our good friend Old Man Winter is en route, and he’ll be bringing what we all dread right to our doorsteps any day now: snow and blizzards. Pretty soon you’ll find yourself sitting around your dorm or apartment drinking hot chocolate, watching movies and dreading the daily trek to class.

One side effect of this is referred to by many medical professionals as “boredom,” some infected also develop a sort of “cabin fever.”

“Symptoms include restlessness, irritability, irrational frustration with everyday objects, forgetfulness, laughter, excessive sleeping, distrust of anyone they are with, and an urge to go outside even in the rain, snow or dark,” according to Wikipedia.

Boredom and cabin fever infect countless people across the world every year, but it’s when it hits close to home is when it hurts the most. And at this point I am speaking of none other than the Government of the Student Body that has become so bored with its day-to-day duties that it has resorted to a “Lord of the Flies” -esque lifestyle.

It is going to kill one of its own.

Now, of course, no one is actually getting murdered, but why not at this point? Last Sunday a meeting was held in regard to the impeachment of GSB Election Commissioner Nick Davis because he had violated a bylaw.

First off, what bylaw did he break? Maybe Davis is actually corrupt, maybe he embezzled thousands of dollars in GSB funds, only to be discovered months later when he finally slipped up — or maybe he’s been selling our university secrets to the University of Iowa or the University of Northern Iowa? I wish it was either of those, but no, Davis forgot to turn in a piece of paper.

And what was on that piece of paper? A bill he was to write up with information pertaining to the residential statistics of Iowa State for this year. Instead of taking care of such dealings in a quiet, discrete manner, as most internal affairs should, his impeachment is now being discussed in a very public manner.

Now I spoke with Davis on this, and he was actually rather surprised that it’s come to an impeachment hearing to resolve an issue. He said GSB first tried to oust him by simply writing up a bill, but after a second glance at the bylaws it was discovered that the impeachment process had to be undertaken to get rid of him. The oversight of such a crucial detail further proves how improperly thought out this entire ordeal has been.

Let’s take a step back for a minute, look at this from another angle and actually look at what the GSB is. Of course it’s what you think it, is, it’s the government of the student body at Iowa State, made up of three branches of very talented individuals, some elected and some appointed, pursuing either a very noble career in public service or individuals who care about Iowa State.

They operate with a mission statement as follows: “Our mission is to strengthen students’ voices and enhance students’ experiences at Iowa State University through active representation, engagement, and support.”

This is a good philosophy to run a student government by in my opinion, because the students do deserve a voice in affairs pertaining to Iowa State. But the issue at hand is, what issues are being ignored by the GSB while they attempt to oust one of their own? What issues are not being discussed in these emergency meetings and hearings?

Davis has stuck with his guns till the end.

“Everyone makes mistakes, I think just because I missed a deadline, for what I would call valid reasons, what they are doing doesn’t validate getting kicked out.”

Davis takes the GSB seriously, so much so that he couldn’t comment on the details involved with the case because of how concerned he was with the trial. However, the details of the matter aside, the issue is a matter of principal. Let me explain that with the following statement:

The Iowa State Government of the Student Body is requesting the impeachment of a volunteer election commissioner. Again, a “volunteer,” who was appointed by the GSB senate, and is being impeached because he forgot to turn in the equivalent of his GSB homework. For a lack of better words I say, “Get over yourselves. There’s more pressing issues to be addressed, like tuition for students, the budget crisis and what the GSB says they do: To make Iowa State a better place to go to college.”