This is the most I’ve ever cared about the Student Government Association, or SGA, here at Texas A&M.
If you haven’t heard about current Student Body President, or SBP, Hudson Kraus’ impending impeachment trial, you must be rooming with Patrick Star at 120 Conch St. AKA living under a rock. Had to specify for anyone who had a sad childhood.
Yep, our boy Hudson is facing impeachment. And for what? SGA can’t handle even a little bit of fraternal nepotism? He was just trying to make it more like the real government, guys, come on.
A little context is in order for the people who somehow care about SGA less than I do. Hudson — or as I like to call him, Santa Kraus — got so caught up in his love for his family that he tried to slide his brother, Hunter, a little early Christmas gift in the form of an executive cabinet position. The first time Hunter was nominated for the role, he was denied. Hudson decided that this just wouldn’t do, so he decided to make a little bitty alteration to the position qualifications.
Originally, the position’s description cited prior SGA experience as recommended. After Hudson got his paws on it, the position had magically changed to an “entry-level” one that required no prior SGA experience. Isn’t that wild?
Hudson tried to excuse his behavior in a half-hearted apology letter that wasted more page space making excuses and saying he shouldn’t be impeached than actually apologizing. Also, as an English major, let me just say it’s pretty clear he didn’t take this comma-happy magnum opus to the writing center beforehand.
Hudson’s main defense was that he was new to the role of SBP and had no idea that giving birth to a nepotism baby was stepping over the line.
“It has only been three weeks since the start of the semester, and it is evident that I cannot know or understand everything that occurs in the SGA [in] that time period,” he wrote.
You’ll notice I had to substitute the correct preposition for the one he used in that sentence. Yeah.
In the same little paragraph of excuses, Hudson claimed that he didn’t know he was supposed to have a working relationship with the senate. “I have previously failed to recognize that as the head of the Student Government Association it is my responsibility to maintain relationships with the Student Senate and foster continued collaboration to accomplish our goals,” he wrote.
You know, the Student Senate, the people helping him do whatever it is he wanted to do with his presidency in the first place … and he didn’t know they were supposed to work together. Do you think he got his pretty fingernails dirty scraping the bottom of the barrel for that one?
He then tried to offer a little slap-on-the-wrist repercussion for his actions. His genuine, honest-to-God suggestion for how he should “atone” for his actions is to “meet with committee chairs once a month and attend each committee meeting once during this semester.” Thus implying that meeting with the Student Senate is a punishment, perhaps?
If you can puzzle out how that makes the whole nepotism thing okay, let me know. I don’t see how lip service within the SGA will help the student body forgive the flagrant immorality that already occurred. I mean, having a meeting with anyone in the SGA would be a castigation for me, but I don’t think he should feel the same way about it.
In case it’s not abundantly clear, I believe it’s time to get this guy out of office. “I didn’t know” has never been and will never be a suitable defense for a blatantly immoral action.
It’s also evident that Hudson doesn’t want to take full responsibility. It’s never his fault — he received “some bad advice on the topic,” he loves his brother too much, he’s just too gosh darned loyal (to his family, anyway; forget about his constituents). All the information is “unfair” and “inaccurate,” but he’s never once explained those claims or his version of the story.
The man has never offered an apology without a qualifier attached to it. It’s a classic political move, sure, but do we really want someone like that in office?
I have a pretty lax opinion of student government — as long as they’re not crossing the line, I couldn’t care less who’s in charge. I can’t name a single one of the SBPs who served during my time at A&M. In fact, I’m pretty sure I wrote-in Kanye for the last election.
Hudson Kraus has already shown his true colors this early in his term. He tried to twist the rules so that his brother could also be a bona fide SGA member. He’s committed textbook nepotism within the first three weeks of this semester.
Are we really going to give him a chance to test the limits again?
Charis Adkins is an English junior and opinion columnist for The Battalion.
