Kyle D. Hawkins '02, one of the bill's co-authors, said he has supported Burton in the past and denied that his actions have been racially motivated.

"I worked on [Burton's] campaign last year," he said. "I worked really hard."

Pforzheimer representative Rachel L. Brown '01 said she was dismayed at the council's behavior during the long fight over the constitutionality of the impeachment process, including frequent outbursts by council members on both sides.

"Members were laughing and talking while a select few were trying to figure out what was supposed to be happening," she said. "There seemed to be no respect for the procedure or for those involved."

After the impeachment was placed on the docket for next week's meeting, the council moved on to more conventional business, electing a secretary and treasurer for the coming semester.

Jean E. Huang '03 defeated current secretary James R. Griffin '02, with the support of many first-year voters. Should Burton be removed from office, Huang would replace him as vice president.

Huang said last night she has not yet decided if she supports removing Burton from office. She worked for the campaign of one of Driskell's opponents, Sterling P.A. Darling '01 in December's presidential election. Last night, she voted to overrule Driskell, agreeing the impeachment process was constitutional.

Though Driskell had called for the council to oust all sponsors of the impeachment bill from their executive board positions, Sterling P. A. Darling '01, who co-sponsored the impeachment legislation, was re-elected as council treasurer with no opposition.