UCCS chief: Evidence against student leader 'insufficient'

University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak has amended a ruling she issued in December concerning the actions of student body President David Williams, saying there is "insufficient evidence" that he violated school rules on being objective and nondiscriminatory when voting on student activity fee funding.

Last fall, Williams chose not to sign off on a plan by a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender group to receive student funds for a campus event, saying it would have gone against his beliefs.

But because he didn't veto the request, the funding came through. Shockley-Zalabak later ruled that Williams had violated the viewpoint of UCCS neutrality and nondiscrimination rules.

Williams appealed her ruling to the school's Board of Regents, which voted April 30 not to hear his appeal. The board instead referred the matter back to the chancellor and an outside legal counsel.

Last week, Shockley-Zalabak issued a statement saying she had received "additional relevant information" in reviewing Williams' case, and although she concluded he "did engage in viewpoint discriminatory conduct" in choosing not to sign off on the plan, she felt there wasn't enough evidence to establish that he violated the school's viewpoint-neutrality rules or its nondiscrimination requirements.

The controversy has led the chancellor to call for amendments to the student constitution to clarify that student officials may not take personal viewpoints into account with respect to any decision or action in the process of approving funding for a student group.

Shockley-Zalabak also recommended the rules specify that votes or actions by student government officials in approving funding should not be connoted as an agreement with, or an endorsement of, the viewpoints of any group.

The dispute resulted in Williams being impeached by the school's student government association last month but not removed from office.

His term ends June 30. He lost a recent bid for re-election.