The Members at Large amendment, proposed by Griffin Oliver ’27, creates a new, non-voting Senate position due to increasing retention rates and interest from the incoming class. Oliver also cited a similar non-voting position on the Executive Board as precedent for the position. Members at Large can interject in senate discussions and are required to participate in committee meetings. One becomes a Member at Large by being appointed the Grand Marshal and approved without objection by two or more Senators. If Members at Large get elected to Executive board or Senate positions, they will forfeit the Members at Large position.
During the discussion, Aaron Niyazov ’28, Chair of the Web Technologies Group, objected to the amendment because he believes that, while the implementation of Members at Large is a “worth-while experiment,” it could eventually “diminish what it means to be a senator.” In defense, others countered his claims by praising the position’s ability to smoothly integrate new members. Oliver later acknowledged the risks of the amendment, but ultimately believes the benefits outweigh the risks. After discussion, Niyazov’s sentiment didn’t take hold within the overall debate.
Altogether, the Senate aims to increase the levels of interaction between new members of the senate, citing that diversity of thought, additional membership, and ease of entry are beneficial to organizations as a whole. The motion passed 13-02-02 on August 31st.
The Removal Procedure Amendment was created to be a set of guidelines for the Senate to remove non-Senate members, following the impeachment of former J-board member Connor Wallace ’27. Wallace had to defend himself from impeachment during the same meeting he was informed of it, called an “ambush” by Oliver. This amendment is meant to enshrine the rights of the accused to defend themselves. The Grand Marshal or a designated representative would have twenty-four hours to inform the accused, and there would be forty-eight hours for the accused to prepare. However, the wording of the amendment had the twenty-four and forty-eight hour deadlines start at the same time, allowing the Grand Marshal to inform the accused at the end of the twenty-four hours, only giving them another twenty-four hours to prepare for their defense.
Several senators stated that they believed forty-eight hours would be too short of a time to defend themselves from impeachment. They wanted more time for students to be able to prepare the information they may need for their defense. Other senators disagreed, citing the United State Constitution’s right to a speedy trial, and not wanting it to hang over students’ heads, with Oliver citing that the previously impeached student “never complained about speediness.” Their argument continued by stating that the Senate would work with the accused in “good faith,” and if the Senate were not acting in good faith, they could simply suspend the bylaws and there would be nothing the current Senate could do to stop that. To that, one senator said “if that were the case, there wouldn’t be any reason to have bylaws amendments, ever.” A motion did pass to amend the forty-eight hour period to one week, but the overall amendment failed by a vote of 8-0-7 and was referred back to committee.
This Senate meeting took place on Monday, August 31, 2026. The Senate meets every Monday at 7 pm in the Shelnutt Gallery.
