« Liberals hate Republicans, Not War | Home | Kerry & Edwards: Duck and Run »

Statement Regarding The SGA President

By Matt Margolis | March 2, 2003

It is an absolute embarrassment for the University of Hartford community for the president of the student government to be arrested for the “delivery of alcohol to minors and possession of marijuana.” In the Cottage Grove Road house shared by himself and two other University of Hartford students, marijuana, cocaine, steroids, drug paraphernalia, eight kegs of beer, and other alcohol products were found as well, according to Bloomfield Police.

Am I surprised? Not really. I knew the type of person T.J. Legg was. I spoke with him on several occasions, and the type of person he was was quite obvious to me. I also was aware of a few details about T.J. that were not widely known that certainly questioned his integrity and morality.

I was incredibly troubled over some of things I read in The Informer. According to According to one article “Police said that they had received information over the course of the year that the residents of the home had been engaging in criminal activity including drug distribution, distribution of alcohol to minors, and allegations of sexual assault.”

This situation is far more serious because of who T.J. Legg was. He was not just a student, but the president of the student government - elected by the student body, and even if these illegal actions only occurred off of University property, you can’t easily separate his capacity as SGA President when looking at this situation.

The SGA President should ideally represent the ideals of the student body - and I have yet to see anyone from the University reflect just how seriously damaging this is to the image of the University. The SGA President represents the student body, and for something like this to happen reflects poorly on the students of the university.

Can anyone really be surprised about this. T.J. Legg was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity - a fraternity with other troubles on campus, and holds minimal standards for its members. Considering the fraternity put the effort into establishing an “unofficial frat house”, the fact that this didn’t happen sooner surprises me.

I feel bad for the university. I feel bad for Jeremiah Grace and Stephanie Delpe, who both ran against T.J. Legg for SGA President. They were candidates of much higher integrity and with better vision for the University.

I feel bad for the university for the way T.J. Legg’s successor, Amiel Hersh, has publicly handled his being handed the presidency of the Student Government. In a at you have caught wind of the news that T.J. Legg has officially resigned as SGA President. He did this for personal reasons and for the betterment of the organization and the University as a whole.” As a University of Hartford student, I would have found this statement to be belittling and inappropriate. This situation should have little affect of Amiel Hersh personally, considering the circumstances, and although he euphemized the reasons for T.J. Legg’s resignation, it’s not about the “betterment of the University”, it is “damage control,” plain and simple. Amiel went on to say “I know that I speak for all of SGA when I say that we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.” How inappropriate is that? “The best of luck”? Considering what T.J is being accused of, the new President-by-Default Amiel Hersh should not be wishing him luck.

Further insulting and pompous of Hersh, he said “I now have the distinct privilege of taking of over as Student Body President. I am truly honored and taken aback by this awesome responsibility.” Hersh should neither feel privileged or honored by being given this position due to the circumstances behind his acquiring it. He should be humbled and sorry that he has been given the position as SGA President because his predecessor was arrested for the possession of illegal drugs and providing alcohol to minors. There is no honor in this presidency.

Amiel Hersh ran unopposed for SGA Executive Vice-President. He lacks the capacity to appreciate the office he has because he did not rightfully earn either position he previously or currently holds in Student Government.

The bleakness of this situation is also aggravated over the fact that Amiel Hersh has no chance of restoring any dignity to the position. On March 2, 2001, during his sophomore year at the University of Hartford, he was part of a group of students who were caught possessing alcohol on campus while underage. Students who were attending the University of Hartford at that time may remember the story because Ha’s Dumbest Criminals) about it. In fact, Hersh was the individual directly quoted in the article attempting to blame a friend of mine (the one who reported the incident) for he and his friends getting caught and getting in trouble.

Now, the same Amiel Hersh who didn’t want to take responsibility for his own illegal actions on March 2, 2001, has been given the presidency of the student government at the University of Hartford… and the dignity of the school is in no better hands. I find it deplorable that Hersh considers the obtaining of the position as “a real joy.”

Towards the end of his statement, Hersh said to the students: “I want to thank you all for allowing me to serve you as Student Body President.” The students had nothing to do with his new position. He ran unopposed for Executive Vice-President, and his predecessor got arrested and resigned which gave him the presidency. There is no honor in that. The students at the University of Hartford need to speak out. They need to demand that honor, integrity, and morality be restored to the office of SGA President and push for a special election if possible, or if Hersh runs for the position for the following year, not elect him. The reputation of the University of Hartford is at stake. Once again, I urge the student body to have a higher standard for the office of SGA President.