Student Government Association President Kunal Naik has been charged on complaints of public intoxication.
The 19-year-old was arrested around 2:15 a.m. Dec. 27 at a residence on Classen Boulevard in Norman.
A Norman police officer responded to an emergency call from the house's tenants about an alleged burglary taking place, according to the police department's call log. When the officer arrived, he encountered Naik standing at the back door of the residence, according to the police report.
Naik appeared to have “thick slurred speech and was unable to keep his balance,” according to the report.
Naik told the officer he had been drinking, and he thought the residence was his home, which was actually a neighboring house, according to the report.
The officer arrested Naik on a complaint of public intoxication and took him to Norman Regional Hospital to be examined, according to the report.
After the examination, Naik was booked into to the Cleveland County Jail at about 3:10 a.m., according to the booking detail report.
Naik was inaugurated in November after running uncontested for the presidential seat.
Before his election, Naik served in SGA with Madeline Grunewald’s cabinet, he’s worked with the OU Women’s Outreach Center on their "Step In, Speak Out" program, was a consultant for the Oklahoma Group and worked with the Corporate Engagement office.
Naik faces the same consequences as any student faced with alcohol charges, regardless of his position with the university, Student Conduct director Steven Ashmore said.
Under OU alcohol policy, if a student is cited or arrested for public intoxication, he or she receives an automatic deferred strike and receives a strike if he or she is proven guilty, Ashmore said.
“In the event of an arrest or a municipal citation for public intoxication, under our student alcohol policy, then the public intoxication is entitled to an automatic deferred strike,” Ashmore said.
The Student Conduct office is notified by the OU Police Department whenever a student is arrested for any kind of alcohol-related charge, Ashmore said.
Norman Police Department informs the Student Conduct office every few weeks about students who have been charged, Ashmore said.
After the Student Conduct office is notified of a violation, the office looks at the information available, and if a student code is violated, the student will receive an email that they are alleged to have committed a violation of the code and they will have to report to student conduct within five days, Ashmore said.
Once the evaluation is made, the student must visit with a caseworker from Student Conduct and discuss the allegations against them, Ashmore said.
As for SGA, whether Naik faces repercussions is completely up to student congress.
The Code Annotated, laws by which the SGA governs itself, makes no statements about whether the current president must be in “good moral standing,” said Lauren Aragon, Undergraduate Student Congress chairperson.
Congress is the only body that can bring charges against the SGA president for impeachment, Aragon said.
The Code Annotated states:
“Congress shall have the sole power to bring impeachment charges against the members of the Executive and Judicial branches.”
If charges are filed by student congress, the Graduate Student Senate will try the charges against the president and then vote on it, Aragon said.
The Code Annotated also states:
“The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When the Student President is tried, the Chief Justice of the SGA Superior Court shall preside over the Senate.”
Aragon declined to comment on whether the congress would pursue impeachment charges against Naik.
Naik said via email that he was currently facing both legal and university charges for "this mistake [he] made during winter break." Naik also said his actions had "not impacted SGA in any way."
Naik declined to comment further.
