MARQUETTE -- The newly-elected president of the student body at Northern Michigan University will keep his new job.
At an emergency meeting, the Associated Students of NMU and the Dean of Students decided to let Ben Stanley keep the leadership role after he serves his jail time and pays a $250 fine. Stanley was jailed on Monday for contempt of court, after his refusal to pay a $60 ticket for letting his chicken run loose in Marquette last year.
Current ASNMU President Justin Brugman says students were taken by surprise when Stanley was arrested, especially under the bizarre set of circumstances.
"I think a lot of them are a little bit shocked, but also with the scenario of what it is, with the chickens, it's a little humorous, I think, for a lot of them," said Brugman.
For the interim, Brugman will remain acting president until Stanley's legal matters are resolved. Stanley was elected president earlier this month, winning nearly half of the vote.
The judge released Stanley from jail on Friday morning and he has paid some of his fine. He plans to have the nearly $1,000 in court costs and fines paid off by June.
Stanley says he got rid of the chickens the day after he was ticketed, but the police would not drop the fine.
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