For the past two weeks, The Chronicle has been chasing a story about Student Government Association (SGA) Senator Robin Doublebower and her pending impeachment for misuse of the SGA vans. You may have noticed that we ran said story this week after receiving reliable confirmation about the facts, as well as an interview with Doublebower. By no means do we think that what Doublebower did was right or by the rules, but we do believe that it brings to light other problems concerning all of SGA and their vans.

Doublebower clearly bent the rules, and she did so more than once. The most recent time she broke the rules, she did it on her own, but according to Doublebower, other times the Office of Student Leadership and Activities (OSLA) allowed her to take the vans for personal errands not directly related to student clubs or organizations.

There is a bigger problem than the fact that Doublebower made mistakes, whether they were unintentional or deliberate. In many circumstances, it seems as though she should have never been able to gain access to the vans. This points to an underlying problem with the system surrounding the vans.

Last semester, Chronicle editors Samuel Rubenfeld and Stephen Cooney reported on stories surrounding the vans and their policies and came to the realization that there were problems with the vans, most which were clerical. The stories never ran in The Chronicle because the semester ended before they finished reporting, and the Doublebower situation seem to lean in that favor.

Even though students should not be trying to sneak around the system and misuse University property, if people can get away with something in this society, they will inevitably try to. If the system is flawed, they will continue to take advantage of it and exploit the situation’s underlying problems.

While following the SGA situation, The Chronicle believes that, yes, Doublebower broke the rules, but the bigger problem is with the follow-through and execution of the van policies and allowance of who uses the vans. Yes, the paperwork was filled out, but does OSLA or the SGA ever actually know where the van is headed and what it is being used for? This matter, and the confusing and misguided van system, is far more of a problem than one isolated SGA senator.