In his public apology for the racist language found on his Tinder profile, Student Association President Dillon Schade urged the student body to work with him to fight against racial inequality on our campus. He could better show his commitment to the cause by resigning the presidency.

The series of events that unfolded over the past week were hard to believe. The student body watched as Schade’s Tinder account was revealed to contain a joke using the N-word. Initially, he claimed that the profile was not his, and later said that he had fallen victim to a malicious prank. Student groups reacted, with the Latin American Student Union, Women’s Student Union and Hillel — among others — signing on to a letter from the Black Student Union (BSU) calling for Schade’s immediate resignation, a formal apology and a dire need for change on Binghamton University’s campus.

On Thursday, BSU hosted an open town hall meeting that also featured additional cultural groups and minority organizations, where many students publicly voiced their issues with Schade and their dissatisfaction with the current campus climate. Though the meeting was not open to the press, Pipe Dream received word from attendees that Schade plans to formally resign at Monday’s Congress meeting. However, until there is public confirmation, this information is only heresay.

If indeed Schade intends to resign, the Editorial Board encourages him to do so with haste.

The fact of the matter is that students do not feel comfortable with Schade as their president — and rightly so. Whether or not Schade is responsible for the language that appeared on his Tinder profile is not yet clear, but what is clear is that he is an elected representative who has lost the trust of a large segment of the students he represents.

Every day that Schade remains president is a day that the Student Association cannot effectively do its job. He can no longer serve as the voice of the students to the administration and beyond when so many view his voice as tainted and not representative of their own. His presence in the SA is now a distraction and a hindrance, rather than a driving force.

When Schade ran for his position last year, he made it clear his intentions were to do right by the student body both as a leader and a representative. There is certainly no doubt that he was committed to his job, but it is now completely clear that he is no longer fit for it.

Schade must leave office for the same reason he took it — to help move Binghamton University forward.