Last Friday, Feb. 26, the Administrative Units Committee removed its chairman, Sean Niemic. This was done properly in accordance with all the committeeâÄôs operating procedures. This was the second meeting where a vote for his removal took place. In FridayâÄôs meeting, a motion to remove Niemic from the committee was put forth, seconded and voted on. It passed by a 7-2 majority. Niemic claimed that the motion was not proper because it was put forth by a person who had already voted to remove him in a Feb. 5 meeting. The majority of the committee disagreed with this interpretation of the rules. The point proved moot, since the motion to remove Niemic was put forth again by a member who had voted against his removal in said previous meeting. The motion was seconded, voted on and passed by a 7-2 majority. After the motion passed, Niemic was asked to leave and the proceedings resumed upon his departure. It should be noted that Niemic is the only one who left the meeting. Derek Trout, who authored the first letter to the editor regarding this series of events, stayed for and took part in the rest of the meeting. Throughout the process, Niemic refused to accept the reality of what was happening and attempted to use the title of chairman and his interpretation of the operating procedures to silence any opposition. The fact remains that he was removed from the committee by a proper motion and a two-thirds majority vote. The responsibilities of chair require viewpoint neutrality and professionalism. The committeeâÄôs greatest concern is upholding the credibility, professionalism and process of the committeeâÄôs work. Leadership thus far has hindered the duties of the committee. Following NiemicâÄôs removal, the committee conducted initial deliberations and made draft recommendations. This meeting, like all during the fees process, was open to the public and several administrative units were present. Recordings of each meeting are available to the public upon request. Unfortunately, Niemic refused to return the audio recording device to adviser Erich Martin upon his termination as chair. The recording device included the first part of the meeting and NiemicâÄôs subsequent removal as chair (fees deliberations were recorded on a separate recording device and are available). The committee is uncertain if the recording remains fully intact or if it was erased or altered in any way by Neimic. Kenneth Kapphahn was then nominated by a committee member to fill the position of chair. Kapphahn was nominated for his experience with the fees allocation process and for his knowledge of âÄúRobertâÄôs Rules of Order.âÄù The whole committee agreed that he would be the best representative. Of eight members present, seven ballots were cast for Kapphahn. Kapphahn was the only member who abstained from voting. This means that all members present, including Trout, were in favor of Kapphahn taking the position as chairman. Our committee appreciates KapphahnâÄôs leadership. The committeeâÄôs initial recommendations have already been sent to the administrative units and the committee intends to move forward with the fees process as planned, with the public hearing scheduled for 5-6 p.m., Wednesday, March 3 in Coffman Union. Arnar Hjartarson, Renee Anderson, Elise Hanson, Pat Ferrian, Cathy Burke, Blake Thomas, Theadora Schmidt; SSFC Administrative Units Committee members