The fate of one Student Government official could be in jeopardy following the resignation of Executive Assistant Crawford Daniel Leavoy. Leavoy submitted his resignation effective Wednesday at noon to Student Government President Chris Odinet following a meeting held Monday concerning the use of work-related BlackBerrys. Odinet said two Student Government officials used the telephone feature on their BlackBerrys to make both personal and work-related calls, which is a breach of contract SG signed with Cingular. “[Leavoy] didn’t hold himself to the level of responsibility that we hold ourselves accountable,” Odinet said. “I instructed [executive staff] not to use the phone service, ever. Crawford used it anyway.” Both Senate Speaker Evan Bergeron and Leavoy tallied telephone calls that were allegedly in violation of their agreement. SG’s contract with Cingular allowed only data exchanges with the BlackBerry, not telephone calls or instant messaging. After the Cingular contracts were terminated July 1, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Donald Hodge conducted an audit and discovered both parties used the telephone feature, causing the set rate of $49.99 to rise as far as $133.25 for Leavoy and $73.25 for Bergeron. “I decided I would resign to not seek negative press,” Leavoy said. “It was obvious to me they refused to follow past precedent. I was abandoned by this administration.” Once approached with the issue, Leavoy felt it was in his and SG’s best interest to resign. However, according to Hodge, when he approached the speaker about the issue, Bergeron denied the allegations, saying all phone calls made where work-related. “It’s sad because I admitted my wrongdoing the second it was questioned,” Leavoy said. “Evan has not been that willing to work toward fixing the harm.” Hodge said he filed a Code of Student Conduct Complaint with the Dean of Students Office after Bergeron allegedly lied about his BlackBerry use. Bergeron could not be reached for comment before publication.
_____Contact Brennan David at bdavid@lsureveille.com
SG official resigns over use of BlackBerry
August 21, 2006