Blake Frederick’s survival of a censure at last week’s AMS Council meeting sent the wrong message to the executive—and to himself.

It says that the status quo is acceptable and that Council will quickly forgive individuals for their irresponsible actions—it is not and we should not.

The AMS has a history of rolling over when it comes to executives who are out of line. Who can forget last year’s VP External, Stefanie Ratjen? When an executive of a multimillion-dollar organization, representing tens of thousands of stake holders, is caught on video inciting a riot [sic], disobeying lawful orders, blocking firemen, and finally being dragged off into a cop car, they are fired.

If they have any respect for their organization, they resign or step down. But in the AMS, nothing happens. The censure motion on Wednesday was a message to AMS executives that they need to be held responsible for their actions.

Frederick is not entirely to blame, and it is a true shame that all of it has fallen on his shoulders. In all my time being involved at UBC, I have never met anyone who is more passionate about student issues and willing to go to bat for students. It’s how he steps up to the plate that needs to change.

The debate on Wednesday was really about how our entire executive handles their external relationships. These relationships are primarily the responsibility of Frederick and Tim Chu, the VP external. Their strategy thus far has largely been to rub it in the university’s face as a “victory” when students are successful, and to whine about lack of consultation when we don’t get our way. The absurd belief of these executives seems to be that if students—who the AMS are not an accurate representation of—had been “properly” consulted, there would be no bus loop, tuition fees would be $0, the NDP would have won every seat in the provincial election, and the Iraq war wouldn’t have happened (we actually voted on that one in 2003). This approach is childish and disrespectful. It creates a relationship that is hostile and antagonistic, leading to fewer returns for students.

Is no one concerned that our VP external’s door and room are filled with anti-Olympic stickers and posters? You should consider that he is the chief contact for all things Olympic. How would you feel if your prof had an “I Hate Students” sticker on their door or UBC President Stephen Toope had a “No Students” sign outside his office? How hypocritical are we? It is especially pungent coming from Chu, whose only semblance of a policy has been about equity.

What about giving those who support the Olympics (as I believe most UBC students do) an equal chance and not shoving partisan positions in the face of those who walk into the external office; positions that have not been supported by Council? How equitable is it to block university administrators from presenting at Council?

You can believe whatever you want about any number of issues happening at our school. But if you are elected by students at UBC, you need to make this place better for them. It is clear that the “injurious and destructive” (Toope’s words, not mine) tactics used by Chu and Frederick are not working for students. It’s time for them to put down the toys, grow up, pick up the phone, and start to make things better.

Editor’s Note: Geoff Costeloe is a student senator who sits on AMS Council and vice-Chair of the UBC Vancouver Senate.