PBHA Cabinet Battles, Won't Impeach Nero

The Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) cabinet voted last night not to remove Harvetta E. Nero '96 as the secretary of its board of directors.

During the four-hour emergency cabinet session, which was closed to The Crimson, PBHA members listened to arguments from Nero and other members regarding her alleged violations of the association's vehicles policy over the summer.

Nero was accused of driving a PBHA vehicle after having had three accidents and being told not to drive except in an emergency.

The assistant director of Phillips Brooks House, Kenneth G. Smith, also alleged that Nero authorized uncertified drivers to take children around the streets of Boston.

PBHA parliamentarian Christopher J. Davidson '95, who chaired the emergency session, said after the meeting that 56 cabinet members voted against Nero's removal and 21 voted in favor. There were nine abstentions.

President John B. King '96-'95 and Vice President Christina Ho '95 scheduled last night's meeting after Nero refused to accept an August 10 board of directors' recommendation that she resign.

Nero said last night that she was delighted with the meeting's outcome and felt vindicated by the cabinet's vote.

"I think all in all the board lost control of the situation," Nero said last night. "The strength of the structure is that when we lose control, the cabinet can step in."

As last night's meeting dragged on, the tone of the debate over Nero's vehicles violations grew heated and more personal. Those who attended said some cabinet members questioned the board's motivation in pushing for Nero's removal.

"First of all I thought that from the beginning this has been a witch hunt," said Iliana G. Tavera '96, a volunteer at Academy Homes Summer Youth Enrichment Program [AHSYEP], which Nero directed.

Tavera said she believes the proceedings against Nero were the result of personality conflicts among the PBHA Board of Directors.

"This all started because of personal things in my opinion," she said.

But James White '95, summer director for Cambridge Youth Enrichment Program at Jefferson Park, said he thought Nero should definitely be removed.

"If her actions put the rest of the PBHA programs in jeopardy and if she blatantly lied to the board, then she should be impeached," he said.

Nero, who has said previously that she is being made a scapegoat in the affair, said last night's meeting degenerated into personal attacks between board members who accused each other of vehicles violations and other improprieties.

"People were going after each other tooth and nail," Nero said.

"It's my hope that the people who have moved these charges against me can move beyond the personal level and use it as a chance to improve the associations accountability," she added.

At the meeting's outset, Nero distributed a three-page packet labeled in bold-face type "Questions for the Insurance Office." In the memo, Nero prepared her defense to charges leveled against her by Smith, who sent a letter to Nero's senior tutor this August recommending disciplinary action against her.

"Very little good can be salvaged from this mess, which gets bigger and nastier with each passing day," Nero wrote. "Let's put it behind us and learn from it, not punish each other needlessly for it. I, for one, long [for] a return to the days where I check The Crimson for the scandal du jour, and we are not it."

But PBHA and PBH staff may have a hard time putting this scandal behind them.

Although King said last night that he is eager to move on, the insurance for vans that used to carry the association's volunteers and the children they serve remains in jeopardy.

Annemarie Thomas, director of the University's insurance program, and her assistant director, Lee Ann Ross, attended last night's cabinet meeting to advise PBHA volunteers on insurance issues. They did not indicate whether they would continue to assist the association in securing car insurance.

In an August 10 letter to King, Ross recommended PBHA take action to discipline the AHSYEP counselors involved in violations of PBHA's vehicles policy.

"It is imperative that I have a written response from the PBHA committee director's (sic) informing me of the actions that will be taken against the Academy Homes individual(s) who operated vehicles without authorization and who operated the vehicles in an unsafe manner (exceeding passenger capacity and having two children in the front seat)," Ross wrote.

Nero alleged last night that King had used this letter to convince board members that her removal was necessary to secure insurance for the association.

But Ross and Thomas said they had no interest in interfering with the governing process at PBHA, which is the only student group overseen by the College to own automobiles.

"There are rules for driving the autos," Thomas said last night. "The reason that we're developing the rules is because we're concerned about the safety of children."

Thomas said she told the cabinet: "You're telling me that you're a responsible group. We can't help you out unless you prove to us that you're acting as responsible organization."

But Thomas and Ross said their support for a renewal of PBHA insurance was not contingent on Nero's removal.

"When I wrote that in the letter what I wanted from PBH was something to show me that they take this seriously," Ross said. "They have to decide this."

Since receiving Ross' letter, PBHA has begun work on a new vehicles policy. The disciplinary half of that policy was approved at a board meeting this Monday.

According to the new policy, PBHA drivers found at fault in an accident in an association van since January 1, 1993 will have their certification revoked. Decertified drivers may be recertified after two hours of driving and two hours of classroom training, according to Vehicles Coordinator Gene Koo '97.

Ironically, Koo was one of four members of the PBHA board of directors who were among 15 drivers decertified this week. Nero, Jeremy B. Saum '95 and Debra B. Stulburg '95 were also decertified.

At about the same time Nero was involved in her three accidents, a van driven by Koo struck a construction worker. After the accidents, Smith asked both Koo and Nero not to drive. Unlike Nero, Koo said he complied.

Stulberg, the cabinet coordinator, was decertified this week because of an accident last fall in which she hit the rear of a truck. She said last night she was disappointed by the cabinet's decision not to remove Nero.

"I think the majority of the people voted on the wrong issues," she said. "They voted on whether she is a good person or whether she was responsible. That's not the issue. The issue should have been whether we wanted to continue to entrust in her the decision-making power of the association."

King also denounced the cabinet's decision but said he believed the board could continue to work together.

"Harvetta made a very convincing apology to PBHA for her actions," he said. "I hope that we can move forward from here with a commitment to increasing the quality of services we offer to the community.

Tavera said she believes the proceedings against Nero were the result of personality conflicts among the PBHA Board of Directors.

"This all started because of personal things in my opinion," she said.

But James White '95, summer director for Cambridge Youth Enrichment Program at Jefferson Park, said he thought Nero should definitely be removed.

"If her actions put the rest of the PBHA programs in jeopardy and if she blatantly lied to the board, then she should be impeached," he said.

Nero, who has said previously that she is being made a scapegoat in the affair, said last night's meeting degenerated into personal attacks between board members who accused each other of vehicles violations and other improprieties.

"People were going after each other tooth and nail," Nero said.

"It's my hope that the people who have moved these charges against me can move beyond the personal level and use it as a chance to improve the associations accountability," she added.

At the meeting's outset, Nero distributed a three-page packet labeled in bold-face type "Questions for the Insurance Office." In the memo, Nero prepared her defense to charges leveled against her by Smith, who sent a letter to Nero's senior tutor this August recommending disciplinary action against her.

"Very little good can be salvaged from this mess, which gets bigger and nastier with each passing day," Nero wrote. "Let's put it behind us and learn from it, not punish each other needlessly for it. I, for one, long [for] a return to the days where I check The Crimson for the scandal du jour, and we are not it."

But PBHA and PBH staff may have a hard time putting this scandal behind them.

Although King said last night that he is eager to move on, the insurance for vans that used to carry the association's volunteers and the children they serve remains in jeopardy.

Annemarie Thomas, director of the University's insurance program, and her assistant director, Lee Ann Ross, attended last night's cabinet meeting to advise PBHA volunteers on insurance issues. They did not indicate whether they would continue to assist the association in securing car insurance.

In an August 10 letter to King, Ross recommended PBHA take action to discipline the AHSYEP counselors involved in violations of PBHA's vehicles policy.

"It is imperative that I have a written response from the PBHA committee director's (sic) informing me of the actions that will be taken against the Academy Homes individual(s) who operated vehicles without authorization and who operated the vehicles in an unsafe manner (exceeding passenger capacity and having two children in the front seat)," Ross wrote.

Nero alleged last night that King had used this letter to convince board members that her removal was necessary to secure insurance for the association.

But Ross and Thomas said they had no interest in interfering with the governing process at PBHA, which is the only student group overseen by the College to own automobiles.

"There are rules for driving the autos," Thomas said last night. "The reason that we're developing the rules is because we're concerned about the safety of children."

Thomas said she told the cabinet: "You're telling me that you're a responsible group. We can't help you out unless you prove to us that you're acting as responsible organization."

But Thomas and Ross said their support for a renewal of PBHA insurance was not contingent on Nero's removal.

"When I wrote that in the letter what I wanted from PBH was something to show me that they take this seriously," Ross said. "They have to decide this."

Since receiving Ross' letter, PBHA has begun work on a new vehicles policy. The disciplinary half of that policy was approved at a board meeting this Monday.

According to the new policy, PBHA drivers found at fault in an accident in an association van since January 1, 1993 will have their certification revoked. Decertified drivers may be recertified after two hours of driving and two hours of classroom training, according to Vehicles Coordinator Gene Koo '97.

Ironically, Koo was one of four members of the PBHA board of directors who were among 15 drivers decertified this week. Nero, Jeremy B. Saum '95 and Debra B. Stulburg '95 were also decertified.

At about the same time Nero was involved in her three accidents, a van driven by Koo struck a construction worker. After the accidents, Smith asked both Koo and Nero not to drive. Unlike Nero, Koo said he complied.

Stulberg, the cabinet coordinator, was decertified this week because of an accident last fall in which she hit the rear of a truck. She said last night she was disappointed by the cabinet's decision not to remove Nero.

"I think the majority of the people voted on the wrong issues," she said. "They voted on whether she is a good person or whether she was responsible. That's not the issue. The issue should have been whether we wanted to continue to entrust in her the decision-making power of the association."

King also denounced the cabinet's decision but said he believed the board could continue to work together.

"Harvetta made a very convincing apology to PBHA for her actions," he said. "I hope that we can move forward from here with a commitment to increasing the quality of services we offer to the community.