Last spring, as Josh Mandel and Michelle Gullett traded anecdotes inside, the USG president-elect was nowhere to be found at the “official” inauguration ceremony inside the Ohio Union. Refusing to cross a picket line of striking custodial workers, Robert “B.J.” Schuerger had two state senators swear him in outside.

Schuerger always did things his own way. He made himself by his own hand, and he destroyed himself by his own hand. In my four years here on the campus, I’ve never seen a student leader with such a knack for politics as Schuerger, and never have I been so disappointed. No one should ever feel sorry for Robert “B.J.” Schuerger.

Tracking the evening activity of this student leader was an exhausting exercise in stamina. He would hop four to five bars in one night, greeting countless people as he went along. I truly believe that Schuerger could be dropped in the middle of any kind of crowd and he would automatically begin to shake hands, connect and network. He would meet a person and remember that person’s name forever. There’s only one other person on this campus during my time here who had such an ability, and his name was E. Gordon Gee.

Schuerger was self-made. The product of a working class background, he didn’t have his mommy and daddy’s money to carry him through. A Democrat by instinct, he modeled himself after the machine politicians of old. The bust of Lyndon Johnson on his desk, the Huey Long quotation on the tip of his tongue, his fascination with the history of the old bosses in New York and Chicago all attest to this.

The formula was simple: If there was a student who could vote for him, he would find a way to help them out, no matter how insignificant. He used favors to build a network of support. He would crowd an officers’ election for a student organization with hundreds of his supporters to ensure that his friends would end up running that organization and supporting him.

USG has always seemed to be a pizza and soda pop organization, more concerned with self-image and little charity drives. Meanwhile, the organization has ignored its primary mission – to make sure the administration responds to the needs of students. Schuerger always said he wanted to change this, and if anyone could have, he was the man. For a while, the students had an articulate spokesman, but in the end, serious character flaws brought him down.

The final report of the Student Affairs investigation says the idea before Dec. 14 was to spend up to $1,250 of USG money on the dinner at Mitchell’s, with the intent of returning $1,000 at a later date to cover it up. Checks were drawn up out of Schuerger’s discretionary fund totaling $2,250. Schuerger and his friends didn’t want to be embarrassed if the bill a was a little larger than the money they had on them.

In fact, the bill at the end of the night turned out to be $2,300. I can just picture one of Schuerger’s people forking up the cash in a state of absolute horror. There was no way to paper over the loss of so much money, so it was decided that Keller Blackburn was going to get a “stipend.” This story would be the standard line for the next month and a half.

It’s been debated whether Schuerger knew about the plan to spend USG money at Mitchell’s. I find it doubtful that someone like him didn’t have at least some knowledge of what was going on. Schuerger has said in public that he let Juan Cespedes fill out checks for him. Even if this is true, it still means that Schuerger was negligent in his duties.

I’m in charge of a staff of more than 80 people at the Lantern. Thirteen editors report directly to me. For every leader, there comes a time when the foot must be put down, when someone in charge needs to say that something is crazy and wrong. It takes a great deal of courage to do this, and I don’t think Schuerger was able to.

Instead of trying to root out those who had done wrong, Schuerger began a cover-up. The problem, of course, was that someone with Schuerger’s political skills receives a larger than usual amount of wrath from political enemies. Schuerger was never someone to feel lukewarm about, and the dinner, it seemed, hadn’t been so well-kept of a secret.

Even then, Schuerger would still be USG president if he hadn’t destroyed about 10,000 copies of the Lantern on Feb. 5. USG bylaws are so loosely written that Blackburn was actually right when he said the money could have been burnt on the Ohio Union’s east lawn, except for the fact that it is illegal to burn currency. That is why the taking of the Lanterns was such a stupid action. Once again, Schuerger knew what was going on, and yet he did nothing. Not only was the destruction of so many newspapers an act of theft, but it ran against the very values of freedom Schuerger and those under him hope to defend in public office someday.

B.J. Schuerger let all of us down. Forced to resign rather than be turned over to the police, he was still unable to take personal responsibility for what happened. Not only did he kill himself politically, but he killed a dream – the idea that USG could actually mean something.

Now Ryan Robinson is USG president. Josh Mandel had his escort vans, and Ryan Robinson has his Web site and his program to pick up litter. Robinson says he wants to restore faith in USG. I challenge him to dream big and to fight worthy battles. The administration wants to transform OSU. Let’s make sure that it’s transformed in a way that is best for all students.

Chris Newmarker, a senior in journalism and political science, is the Lantern editor-in-chief.