Like the smell in my toilet the morning after a heavy night of drinking, the Chemicals Saga just doesn’t seem to want to go away. Friday night saw me rehashing the affair to (yet) another group of people, which is absolutely the very last time I’m going through it from scratch. So why am I mentioning it again?

This morning, I finally received the reasoning of the panel as to my guilt. Remember, I was charged with a "Breach of Health and Safety procedures" (although this was actually, perhaps farcically, denied by the Union President in a letter published in Felix - I kid you not), but the real issue was whether or not I knew of a decision by Exec removing my authority from the issue. I was found "guilty of the charges brought", but with no suggestion as to how I was supposed to have found out about the decision. So what was the reasoning?

"It was the decision of the panel that Andrew Allen (sic) was guilty due to wrongful disposal of the chemicals, together with a lack of notification to the union both before & after the chemicals were disposed of. A lack of communication between himself, his club and the union was felt to be apparent, as well as lack of attendance at meetings where decisions were being made."

So basically, I was at fault because I didn’t know about the decision. Perversly, that was also my defence. And I wasn’t supposed to be at any "meetings where decisions were being made", there’s a little issue called representation, and I voted in an election which chose (and the Government of this country pays for) certain people to attend, make decisions, and be responsible for letting relevant people know what’s going on. Which they didn’t, neither verbally, nor by publishing minutes of the meeting (Sen, you know it’s in the rules, and you’ve been mandated repeatedly to do so). But hey, that’s my fault, isn’t it?

Which brings me on to the final part, the recommendations that the panel came up with. After you read them, think of this: If these are the recommendations, how can you possibly state that I was at fault?

1. The ICU Health and Safety policy should be reviewed, with particular emphasis on the interaction between sabbs, ICU staff and student officers.
2. There whenever a club or society is discussed at a union committee, that club or society should be present; or in their absence, the DPCS should be mandated to directly inform the president/captain/chair of the affected club or society of the results of the procedures. If the committee deems it not to be an urgent policy, then in the absence of that club or society the policy should not be discussed.
3. That ICU Council should create a working group to consider communication policy throughout the union.

I have the following words to say on this issue:

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha.

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha.

Ha Ha.

Morons.