Finally meeting their attendance requirement this week, the Student Senate took care of some of the issues that have been awaiting their attention.
High on their list of priorities was a decision on the motion to amend the Union Constitution in order to dissolve the Independent Council. The motion, which required two-thirds of the total voting membership or 16 votes in favor, was voted down fairly quickly after several weeks of protracted discussion.
Senator William Bobrowski also brought a revised sign policy forward for a vote. The revisions include prohibiting the use of the ground, floors, carpeting, and ceilings as postering surfaces. It also loosens the restriction on using tape as an adhesive so that only duct tape would be prohibited.
The policy was approved by the Student Senate. It needs to gain approval from the Faculty Senate before it can officially go into effect.
The Rules and Elections Committee presented the GM Week 2001 Election Handbook for approval by the Senate. The Handbook outlines the rules and requirements candidates must follow in order to run for student government positions in the GM Week elections that will be held in early April.
With few exceptions, the Handbook remains largely unchanged from last year. Among the changes, party affiliations will be listed next to candidates’ names on the ballots, and candidates who do not turn in their expense forms by the deadline will not be allowed to take office.
The latter of these was a sticking point for some senators, who felt it unnecessarily restricts students who are interested in becoming involved with student government.
Another major concern for many senators was what would happen if a candidate left their party. A single incident from last year prompted the concern that candidates could sign with to a party, only to end up leaving after the party had invested significant time and money in the candidate.
A few, including Bobrowski, were also concerned about counterintelligence opportunities associated with leaving a party, including candidates taking information from the party with them and joining another party.
RNE chair Jeni Jones didn’t see the need to regulate such behavior. "I’m really confused about this plot to take over the world," she said.
She and other members of RNE argued that it was not RNE’s place to handle internal party politics, and that parties should be sure about their candidates before they decide who to support.
The Senate ultimately did not approve the Handbook. RNE will make revisions based on the concerns that were presented and will bring the document back at the next meeting.
Senator Travis McCune, who also serves on RNE, was disappointed with his fellow senators for having failed to come forward with concerns earlier, when RNE first made the Handbook available for review.
"We’re going to have to try to meet this weekend as party campaigning begins in just a few weeks," he said.
The Student Senate has been having trouble meeting quorum requirements at its meetings over the past few weeks. The snowstorm last Monday prevented the Senate from meeting for the second week in a row, and while senators met Wednesday in an attempt to make up the meeting, they could not collect the 16 senators necessary to hold an official meeting.
Those in attendance discussed the issues of campus safety and diversity, which are both high-priority topics throughout the Institute.
