So much for student leaders being unified against the administration. It is now the student leaders against each other. Or at least that is how it appears after the recent arguments after Student Trustee Pat Kelly said students support the faculty union.

Kelly’s statements to a television station Monday angered Dave Vingren, Undergraduate Student Government president, and Tim Hoerman, Graduate and Professional Student Council president, who both said the comments were unwarranted and premature. They were.

Kelly was out of line in saying students support the faculty union for several reasons. First, neither GPSC or USG have officially backed either side in the contract negotiations. There is a chain that must be followed students, constituencies, constituency leaders and finally, the student trustee.

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Another reason the declaration was incorrect is that most students do not even know what is going on. Students walking by the informational picket Monday asked, why are they striking? Kelly’s assumption on behalf of the students was incorrect and premature.

Kelly must remember who he is and what position he holds. He is an elected member of the SIU Board of Trustees. He was elected to represent student interests at the board meetings after talking to student interest groups especially USG and GPSC. Kelly defended himself by saying he was speaking as a student, not an elected official.

This current controversy is eerily similar to a situation last fall, when Carbondale City Councilman Larry Briggs came under fire for making comments about one of the jurors in the Labron Neal murder trial. Briggs also defended himself saying he was speaking as an individual, not as an elected official.

However, such situations do not exist for those in office. Anytime an elected official speaks to the media, he or she will be perceived by the public as an official, not a regular person. That is the price for taking a public office, and those in such situations must carefully monitor what they say at all times in order to avoid situations like this.

Although Kelly’s statements were premature, it is now vital for all sides to move on. Instead of continuing to argue like children in a sandbox, it is important to remember the importance of cooperation. A confrontation between Kelly and Hoerman Wednesday night almost led to punches being thrown. It is expected that student leaders at a university could exhibit a little more maturity and self-control.

If this situation leads to such a breakdown, student government will be at odds with itself, making it weaker when dealing with the administration. Everyone makes mistakes. Do not let this one keep student interests from being accomplished because of bickering by the leadership.