Student Assembly Vice President Amanda Norris scolded unnamed SA senators in an e-mail to the entire senate for opening and playing with Angel Tree presents that were stored in the SA house for next year. The e-mail prompted a string of accusations and led to Sen. Sean Sheppard, a sophomore, admitting to The Flat Hat that he alone removed a present from its packaging.
p. “If I had known that they were little children’s gifts I guess I wouldn’t have opened them,” Sheppard said, adding that he plans to repurchase the present and apologize to the senate. “[I] just thought it was a Nerf gun … it was a mistake.”
p. Sheppard also said he thought Norris sending the e-mail over the senate listserv and the controversy that ensued was even more immature than the act of accidentally opening the present.
p. “Members of the Senate took it upon themselves to play with toys donated to needy children,” Norris wrote. “I really think you owe the class of 2007 and the class of 2010 apologies for acting more immature than the five-year-old children we are trying to help.”
p. She said that because the gift was taken out of its original packaging it could no longer be donated. “The presents we donate are seriously some of the best gifts the children will see during the holiday season,” she said. “Please, for the love of God, stop taking this job as a joke and be respectful to the students who voted for you.”