The Fall 2009 Student Senate had its final meeting of the semester last Monday. Since there are to be no more monetary transaction for the rest of the semester, The Forum decided it would be helpful to let the students in on where the majority of their Student Activity Fee went in terms of funding.

The Senate starts the year with an incredible balance of $99,511 dollars. Here is a list of the top 15 clubs who got the most out of the Senate Budget:

1. International Affairs Association – $7,185

2. Black Student Union – $6,445

3. Gettysburg Television – $6,440

4. Class of 2010 – $4,700

5. Women’s Rugby – $2,855

6. Jazz Appreciation – $3,090

7.College Republicans – $2,750

8. GECO -$2,200

9. Student Musical Theater – $2,150

10. Civil War Club – $1,910

11. International Club – $1,741

12. Disciple Makers Christian Fellowship – $1,558

13. NAACP – $1,430

14. Peace Club – $1,175

15. Latin American Students Association – $1,120

Here’s the bottom line for what’s coming up next semester.

President Riggs’ announcement last Tuesday about ESPN coming back to campus has been received with mixed feelings. Some students are delighted to have the 24-hour sports programming back on campus, while others are questioning where an institution which has had to make major budget cutbacks, like a $20 visit fee to health services, is going to find the $34,000 necessary to pay for the coveted channel. One major factor that played into the President’s decision was the Senate’s official position with respect to ESPN.

At last Monday’s specialty session of Senate, both the Executive Board and senators drafted a viewpoint on where it stands. It was quickly sent to the President, and in less than 24 hours the decision was made. But while the senators were aware of the stance, the rest of the college community was left in the dark.

For those interested in what the document claims, it combines a brilliant mastery of elegance and conservativeness.

Based off questions such as “Why do other institutions have ESPN and we pay more tuition and we don’t” and “Why wasn’t the student body involved with this decision,” the Senate drafted a voting rubric and offered four options which senators could pick.

The option selected by Senate was:

“Student Senate recognizes that ESPN is an important part of the campus culture for many of the students who attended the Student Senate meeting on 9/7/09, and that there are likely many other students not present at the meeting who share this perspective. We also recognize the need for the College to make budget cuts in response to the institutional budget challenges caused by national economic issues. After discussing the reasoning behind the College’s decision to cut ESPN from the campus residential cable package at our 9/7/09 meeting, we have determined that we believe that the institution’s decision to eliminate ESPN was a reasonable response to a challenging budget situation.”

Officer Reports:

President Alex Bigler – Welcomed students to the first meeting of the semester, gave an opening address complete with quote from Martin Luther King Jr. about having the ability and responsibility to make a positive impact.

Vice President Hugh McStravick – Updates made to senate website and looking to form a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page, as well as feedback for what else should be done. They are looking to fill several appointments: the Provost Office’s Committee for Curriculum Assessment and Financial Services for the Committee on Student Charge. Financial Services will not be changing student charge this semester and is looking for alternative routes. There are two vacancies in the Junior class senators because of people studying abroad, and a potential vacancy in the Sophomore senators as well as a vacancy in the Safety and Security chair. Please e-mail Hugh (mcsthu01) if you are interested in one of those positions.

Treasure Maggie McEneney – Preliminary budget hearing are beginning.

Secretary Beth Leamy – Senators should email her before noon if they will not be in attendance, while club representatives have until four.

Parliamentarian Sebastian DiNatale – Constitutional review coming up. Everyone better start pre-gaming.

Club Liaison Joe Gurreri - New club registration form will be up tomorrow afternoon, what’s the difference? You have to add the Student ID numbers of all members.

Business Old and New:

• Parking issue will be discussed next week. Senators are supposed to be emailing their constituents to get feedback and opinions from students.
• Pre-Veterinary club given provisional status. They want to provide mentorship to anyone who wants to be a veterinarian. They have fifteen members and a lot of events coming up. They meet every other Thursday in the Science Center.
• Snowball is Saturday February 9 th at 9pm in the Ballroom. CAB is selling lanterns again this year. They cost fifteen dollars with half of the proceeds made going to the organization that wins the decorating competition, and the other half going to an Adams County Charity of their choice. The lanterns are due by noon on Wednesday February 6 th in the Office of Student Activities. If you have any questions contact Alex Hoffmaster, and you can bring money and pick up forms in the Office of Student Activities.
• Center for Public Service is hiring process Program Coordinators for next year. There are two positions for just the fall semester and seven of the whole year. The application is posted online.

Committees:

• Academic Affairs is reviewing the Gettysburg Curriculum, so if you have any suggestions please contact Allison Rague (ragual01).
• Safety and Security needs a chair.
• Student Concerns Proposed a separate soup line in Bullet and complaint of Mussleman Hall bathrooms being too cold.

Ad Hoc Committees:

Sustainability Keep windows closed to regulate heat in dorms. If a window is open it causes the heat to go making everyone’s room hotter.

Announcements:

• The Law and Justice Society and Alpha Phi Alpha are sponsoring a voter registration drive in the CUB this week. The goal is to get people registered prior to the Pennsylvania Primary on April 22 of this year.
• The applications to be an Orientation Leader are online and are due to the Office of Student Activities by February 15.
• The Gettysburgian is hosting a Writers Conference tomorrow night (Tuesday 22nd) in Mara Auditorium. If you are interested in writing for the paper, come by and meet the staff. Pizza will be provided.
• For all seniors, the 100 Days Party will be on Friday February 8 th in the Attic.
• Tryouts for The Vagina Monologues will be held tomorrow in the Women’s Center. The performances will be held on February 14 th and 15 th.
• For all seniors, this Friday there is a welcome back Happy Hour in the Attic from 5-8.
• Do not do outside work during the Senate meetings.

This week the elections for the executive positions of Student Senate will be held from Wednesday March 28 to Friday March 30. Students can vote in the College Union Building or online. The Gettysburg student has a lot of power to change aspects of the way the school is run. This year election procedures were changed so that now Seniors senate positions will be elected in the fall as well a the Junior class officers will be elected individually for each semester in order to allow those who want to Study Abroad the opportunity to still serve on Senate. Another amendment has been brought up in regards to the Senate budget. The proposed amendment change would make the Senate budget open to the students. Every vote counts and those elected this week will be debating and deciding what happens on this campus. So go out and vote.

The Candidates For Executive Positions:

President

Alex Bigler:
Experience: Alex Bigler has been on Senate for the past three years, during two of which she held executive positions. She is this years Club Liaison and has worked hard to make sure that clubs have their voices heard in Senate. Also, she has worked to amend the learning portfolio, by pointing out the confusing nature and working closely with faculty and students, it has been struck down as a rewuirement for current classes. She has also worked hard in several other positions on campus, and is involved with Residence Life aand GRAB activities.
Platform: Alex wants to make Senate meetings more student friendly, promote awareness of senate activities, more school spirit and activities for the student body, more communication between the students, faculty, and administration, better Town Gown relations, more communication about how the Student Activities Fee is being used.

Joe Gurreri:
Experience: Joe Gurreri has served two terms on senate. He is the President of Lambda Chi Alpha, and the President of the class of 2008. He is a supervisor of Intramural Sports for Campus Rec., a member of the Campus Activities Board, and a two-time Orientation Leader.
Platform: Joe hopes to lead efficient meetings, promoting campus awareness of what activities and events are going on, increasing school spirit, and increasing the support of clubs not only financially, but in actively participating in their events. He believe that through his involvement in a variety of organizations that he has a good idea of what is important to Gettysburg College students.

Vice President (unopposed)

Hugh McStravick:
Experience: Hugh McStravick has served as class president, and is involved in any number of activities from the Student Conduct Review Board to Habitat for Humantity.
Platform: Hugh would like to see the Clubs process become better advertised and easier to understand. He would like to see changes to the meal plans and dining options on campus. As well as to see Senate take a more active role around campus instead of just being financially involved. He has many ideas and many goals for the year, and hopes that the other elected officers are willing to help implement some of these changes.

Treasurer

Owen Carthart: Experience: Owen is currently Student Senate Treasurer, was the Freshman Senator on the Budget Management Committee, former Presiding Officer of Class of 2009 Class Council, former Class of 2009 Vice President, Representative to the Gettysburg College Endowment Committee Chairman, Budget Management Committee, former Representative to the Shaler Area Board of Director on Finance Committee, and former Representative to Christ Lutheran Church Budget and Endowment Committees. Platform: Owen wants to make all Senate accounts and all Senate Club accounts rollover accounts instead of disappearing into the college general fund at the end of the fiscal year. He hopes to work with financial services so that clubs are able to access money more quickly and easily. He would like to publish literature and have workshops with club presidents and treasurers once a semester on how to access club accounts. His hope is to make it possible for clubs to access money without using check requests. Finally, Owen wants to make senate more accountable for its spending. By de-classifying the Student Senate Budget. Students will be able to find out what other clubs, and what Senate is spending its money on.

Maggie McEneney:
Experience: Maggie has served on student senate for the past two years, and both times, she was a member of the Budget Management Committee. She is very familiar with the budget process and was very excited to work with the new freedom of the Student Activity Fee.
Platform: Maggie feels that it is extremely important to link clubs together. As treasurer, she want to bring clubs together and encourage them to share resources. She is interested in bringing a student sober driver program to campus and in this way will contribute to the schools’ advancement and programs.

Secretary

Beth Leamy:
Experience: Beth Leamy is a first year who was elected this year as a Senator. She has served on two committees this year, the Budget Management Committee and the Alcohol Policy Review Advisory Board. While on the Budget Committee she took the minutes for every meeting detailing what clubs asked for and how much money was given. She is also a member of the Campus Activities Board and will be serving as the Vice President of Finance for the 2007-2008 school year.
Platform: Beth hopes to help make senate more cohesive and help senate better connect to the student body. Her experience on the Budget Management Committee this past year has helped her prepare for taking minutes during meetings.

Chad Lingenfelder:
Experience: Chad Lingenfelder has served as the Treasurer for the Class of 2008 as well as a Senator for the past three years. He has been an Intramural Recreation Official, and is a member of the Campus Activity Board. He has co-organized events like Casino Night, Midnight Madness, the Attic Happy Hour, as well as different activities at Spring Fest. He has also co-sponsored the funding for a number of clubs including the Boxing club, and the Hockey club
Platform: Chad has discussed with the administration plans to renovate and build new dorms on campus, expand student facilities, and access to improved parking. Future plans, and ideas include talking to the administration about more student friendly alcohol policy, and trying to lower the foreign language requirement.

On April 10, the newest batch of elected senators and exec members were sworn in and appointed. For those that are ignorant of the workings of the student senate, every year, the newly elected exec has to appoint a clubs liasion and parlamentarian. This year those positions went to Alex Bigler, ‘08 and Hugh McStravick, ‘09 respectively.

In addition to the announcement of these positions, there was also a touching farewell ceremony from the old to the new. It not only included farewells but the swearing in. The following are you newly elected class senators:

Class of 2007
Ward McGroarty
Frederick Reimer
Joseph Gasparro
Whittney Gallo
Elizabeth Stuka
Jerry Jones
Julius Redd

Class of 2008
Jess Daggon
Joe Gurreri
Dave Moore
Jacquelyn Sargenti
Monica Charpentier
Chad Lingenfelder
Tyler Hobbs

Class of 2009
Danielle Beasley
Kyle Bruntz
Meghan Mcbroome
Jermaine Alexander
Lauren Meehan
Steve Fairhurst
Allison Rague

Congratulations to all newly elected senators! The student body trusts that you will continue the legacy that senate has fostered: one of growth, legacy, and decision making. Also, held concurrently with senate elections were class officers, here are those results as well:

Class of 2007
President: Tara Suntum
VP: Martha Ryzminski
Treasurer __________
Secretary Ali Craig

Class of 2008
President: Joe Gurreri
VP: Dave Moore
Treasurer: Chad Lingenfelder
Secretary: Jacquelyn Sargenti

Class of 2009
President: Hugh McStravick
VP: Dean Vlahos
Treasurer: Kelley Wirths
Secretary: Jenn Amols

These people are now representing Gettysburg students as a community, class, and individual. It is your job as informed students to know who they are and how they will be representing you. Demand answers for your questions. This is the most crucial and direct form of self-government, this is where your voice truly matters. Furthermore, senate meetings are open to anyone. You do not need to be an elected senator or even a club representative. Senate often looked at as a waste of times by many clubs, but they are sorely mistaken; senate is a time to promote events and discuss issues on campus. It takes an hour of your time to be informed, the trade off is obviously in your favor.

In other senate news, the Black Student Union (BSU) received club of the year award at this meeting; congratulations to a job well done in senate and on campus!

The polls closed on March 31st and the results were:
President: Steve Ginter
Vice President: Eric Williams
Treasurer: Owen Carhart
Secretary: Jenn Amols

The two remaining positions, parliamentarian and clubs liaison are appointed positions and will be announced within the coming weeks before senate transitions with the new governing board.

Next year’s senate has a lot to live up to and accomplish. The implementation of the Student Activities fee will make more money available to student clubs and organizations; it will be interesting to see how the money is distributed and what new activities will be brought to campus.

The best opportunity for student involvement on campus is to be active in student senate. Clubs are required to send representatives, but most senate meetings are open to anyone. It is not only a great way to get involved but to be informed about what is happening on campus.

Other elections that are coming up are class officers. Make sure to go out and support your picks. Look for advertisements within the upcoming week about who is running for what office, and the gburgforum will keep you up to date as well. Voting is open to everyone in that class, thusly rising seniors will vote for their president, vice-president, treasurer, and secretary; subsequently each class will do the same.

Once again, the gburgforum urges you to go out, and as P. Diddy said “Rock the Vote.”

The phrase “Rock the Vote” was enough to inspire thousands of young voters to flood the polls in the 2004 presidential campaigns hoping to inspire change. Now, whether you considered changing your citizenship on that Tuesday in November or thought that the Bush administration would be god’s gift to America, the fact that you went to the polls gave you that wonderful right and privilege to complain about the government. Two years later, it seems that message has been rocked out, or maybe it was more of a pop message, something that would come and go. Regardless, the idea of empowerment for “the college voter” is something that should be reinforced again and again. News Flash!!! There are more elections than one every four years, and you actually have more of a say in local government elections then you ever would in national elections. So I pose you the question: Are you going to be voting for the 2006 senate elections at Gettysburg College? This is a plea, no not from P. Diddy, Puff Daddy, Puffy or whatever he’s going by these days, this is a plea from a student just like yourself. I realize the power for change that the gettysburg student senate possesses; remember the learning portfolio (senate passed a letter under the recommendation of Alex Bigler and Kristin Makar) that is no longer a requirement to graduate and the passing of the Honor Code, well these are just two of the accomplishments that the ‘05-’06 senate can bost about. Now, at the end of the school year it is up to you the students and voters of Gburg to have your voice heard. Voting starts on March 29th and lasts through the 31st, from 11:30AM to 1PM in CUB. As Puffy would say, “Rock the vote!” so rock the vote…take two.

The Candidates:
President: Steve Ginter and Whittney Gallo
Vice-president: Kyle Bruntz and Eric Williams
Treasurer: Owen Carhart
Secretary: Jenn Amols

On Monday, October 3rd, the proposed amendments to the Honor Code went before Student Senate. Senators, club representatives, and other concerned students were there for about two hours debating and discussing the proposal. Despite the overwhelming support from both the Honor Commission and the faculty, Senate voted down the proposal in a 25-4 majority vote.

At the start of the meeting, Senate President Al Wilkins called the meting to order and put aside new business until the October 17th open meeting. Parliamentarian Michael Straubel established the format of the meeting: each of the five main points would be presented and seven to ten minutes of debate/ discussion would be allocated for each point. After each point was discussed, the floor would be reopened for further debate before the actual vote.

Some of the main proposed changes were: there would be a discussion led in the beginning of the semester regarding academic integrity in the specific class, professors would be allowed in the classroom during exams, there would be a preliminary style conference before the actual hearing, the pledge would be changed to a positive one that would be signed once a semester stating that students are upholding academic integrity, and that the student would be allowed to have an advisor for the actual hearing. The discussions after each point were informative and showcased how active and concerned, even this relatively small group of students was.

After each point was discussed Straubel discussed the general consensus of the student groups that senate outreached regarding the new proposal.

Overall, it seemed impossible to pinpoint just one reason why the honor code failed. Students brought up the fact that the idea of having professors discuss academic integrity should already be happening and it is not, so what would make this amendment stronger then the one already in place. Also one student, in response to the proposal to allow teachers in the classroom, brought up the analogy of a child being left at home. If the parents provide a babysitter it is understandable and you might not be on your best behavior, but if they allow you to stay home by yourself, you are going to feel grown-up and proud and not want to lose the privilege; similarly professors in the classroom, might prevent cheating, but it would not foster trust and honor.

Another point brought out was in the preliminary conference setting, that student involvement may be lost due to the required number of faculty and administrators on the board. One student brought out that it really gives one administrator the same power as the six students that are used in the present system.

The proposed honor pledge reads: I affirm that I will uphold GettysburgCollege’s principles of academic honesty in all my academic integrity, and foster an atmosphere of mutual respect within and beyond the classroom. Students pointed out that although the language used may feel all warm and fuzzy, the changes may not work, and while many students would love to write the pledge only once a semester, others claim that writing it on each paper makes you stop and think. Also the new pledge takes out the part about witnessing cheating, and some speculate that it takes student involvement out. Finally, although there were less student objections to having an advisor, in this case any member of the Gettysburg community, with you during the hearing, some said that if the advisor wasn’t allowed for all processes then it would give them and incomplete picture and they could not fully help.

Senior Senator Eric Payne said that, “My main objection is that it’s too ambiguous; it’s too soft, and that it really has no hard goals, no hard standards, and it’s too loose….I’d like to see a new proposal, pretty much…A new honor code that expanded to the entire campus community and all aspects of college life, I’m talking about behavior, academics, all that kind of stuff, so we have an honor code that really holds students to that standard, in not just classes.” Senate Treasurer Fred Reimer also stated, “A lot of the ideas were pretty good ideas that were put forth today, but the language itself just needs to be worked on.” Former Honor Commission Chair, Matthew Recore, said that, “I have a strong knowledge about the honor code and a strong passion for what it stands for, and upon reading the current proposed changes, I realized that it took a lot of the power that the students currently have and gives it to academic advisors.”

Now that the proposal has failed, the question on most people’s mind, is what will happen next? The answer was brought forth in one of the two proposed motions at the end of the Student Senate meeting: the creation of an ad-hoc committee or sending the proposal to the academic affairs committee. In both cases, either committee would have collaborated to resubmit the proposed changes for another vote. Senate called to question both motions, separately of course, and voted for the creation of an ad-hoc committee that would consist of students, faculty, and honor commission representatives, in hopes that these representatives can better articulate how to best incorporate all the voices of concern and input into a structurally stable and implementable code. Ultimately, as one student senator questioned, is it better to implement a flawed code with more flawed revisions or wait until it can be replaced with a code that students can uphold and embrace?

Student Senate met for the first time of the 2005-2006 academic year on Monday, August 29th.

Senate had been busy over the summer working on two major initiatives for this semester: the proposed new Honor Code and a Student Activity Fee.

The proposed Honor Code will be brought to vote at the October 3 rd Senate meeting. The Honor Code was already passed by the faculty at an April faculty meeting. The Senate is planning to orient the students on the proposed Honor Code; however details on these plans were not given at the meeting.

In two weeks, there will be survey on CNAV regarding the possibility of a Student Activity Fee (SAF). Senate will look at those results and determine the favorability of a SAF would be at Gettysburg College.

During Homecoming Weekend Senate is planning to reestablish an old tradition; a float parade. All clubs are encouraged to participate. The prize for “Best Float”, said Senate Treasurer Fred Reimer, “could be 500 or a 1,000 dollars.”

The Activities Fair will be held between 4-6 PM on September 1 on Stine Lake.

Lastly, Brian Lovett of Safety and Security (S&S) spoke about safety on campus and the new S & S uniforms. The new uniforms include a powder blue shirt and navy blue pants. These uniforms differ from last year’s royal blue shirt and black pants.

Student Senate Meetings are held every week at 7 PM in CUB 260.

Over the past three weeks, nearly 50% of the positions in Student Senate have been undemocratically filled by special appointments, leaving half of the student body’s representative body hand selected by a small group of members of the Student Senate Executive Board. These appointments, which violate the Senate Constitution by taking place prior to freshmen fall elections were also made without the required number of senators for quorum, further illegitimating their existence. These actions could be deemed unconstitutional by members of Senate, and charges of impeachment could potentially be brought against those Senate officers involved in the process. In addition to possible parliamentary proceedings, the legitimacy of the recent and future disbursement of club funds to various organizations, coupled with the possible initiation of a Student Activity Fee, leaves the constitutionality of Senate proceedings hazy at best.

The Gettysburg Student Senate faces a number of challenging decisions and tasks in the upcoming school year, including the impending vote on the passage of the new Honor Code and the possible implementation of a Student Activity Fee. These complex issues are further complicated by recent activities of the Senate, in particular, those of its Executive Board officers, which may be in violation of their Constitution. These actions include the unconstitutional appointment of Senators, and the holding of meetings and conducting of official business without a proper quorum, possibly nullifying any recent Senate initiatives.

From March 29 through March 31, the Student Senate held their annual elections to fill each class’s seven senatorial positions. In total, twenty-one student seats were open during these elections, and seven additional first- year students will be elected in September upon the entrance of the Class of 2009. When the votes from the election were counted on March 31, by 2004-2005 Student Senate Vice President Whittney Gallo and Associate Dean of College Life, Tom Mottola, Senate was not able to fill the total number of open positions for class representatives.

While all the seats were filled for next year’s sophomores, the class of 2008, only three positions were filled for next year’s senior class and only one spot was filled for next year’s juniors, the class of 2007. Out of over 600 students in the junior class, only one student ran for a Senate position. Furthermore, ten of the 21 open Senate positions, or 47.62%, remained vacant. Records for the past two Senate elections were not available for comparison purposes, as the Senate does not release numerically based election results.

In order to ensure a smooth transition between officers, Student Senate installs their newly elected officers at the third to last meeting of the year. The new President and other officers then conduct official business at the final two meetings of the year. This year’s installation took place on April 11, and the subsequent meetings held on the 18 th and the 25 th of April. After the April 11th installation, it became obvious that the deficiency of Student Senators was both problematic and not conducive to the mechanisms of Senate, which require a quorum for conducting official business, and various committee chairs to report to the Senate each week. A quorum is the minimal number of senators of the Student Senate who must be present at the meeting in order for the senate to conduct business.

Alex Wilkins, class of 2006, and newly elected President of the Student Senate, explained that, “due to the amount of positions still open, we had to fill the positions in order to meet quorum and be able to conduct our final two meetings of the semester.”

In total, Student Senate has appointed nine Senators (three also hold committee chairmanships), over the past three weeks. Four senators, including the three committee chairs, were appointed on April 18th. Eric Payne, Brittany Tuosto and CJay Roughgarden were appointed as committee chairs, and rising junior Mike Pattanite were appointed and approved at this meeting. An additional five Senators were appointed at the meeting on April 25th.

President Wilkins remarked that, “ after filling all the chair positions, it was then apparent that there were 6 juniors that showed interest in the position who all were both qualified and motivated about working with Senate and there was no need for a special election.  There is still an open senior position which we hold a special election for in the fall.”

There is a provision in the Student Senate Constitution, revised in January and again in March of 2005, (Article 3, Section 1-K), that states, “[t]he Board of Directors reserves the right to appoint no more than 3 (three) representatives at-large if it feels that representation for a segment is lacking.” The Board of Directors, according to Article 2, Section 2-A, consists of the Senate Executive Board as well as the chairperson of each of the standing committees. One senator confirmed to Gburgforum.com that the Board of Directors did have a meeting and that three rising seniors were approved by the Directors as both Senators and committee chairmen, and that after being approved by the directors, the three individuals stayed and participated in the rest of the meeting.

Tom Mottola, Associate Dean of College Life, confirmed that the Board of Directors did meet, prior to the second to last Senate meeting, and “ they were appointed on the 18 th… and came to the meeting as committee chairs.” Mottola expressed confusion over the chain of events leading up to the Senate confirmation of the three committee chairs, and said, “I don’t remember if they were at both meetings, but they weren’t appointed until the last meeting,” and also remarked that, “They were present at meetings before being officially appointed… I don’t remember whether they participated at the 18th and 25th.”

At the Student Senate meeting held on April 18th, President Wilkins introduced Payne, Tuosto and Roughgarden, to fill committee chairs and also be appointed as Senators. These individuals required a majority vote of Senators for confirmation in their new positions. However, due to the lack of Senators, there were only fourteen officially elected Senators and Executive Board members with voting privileges, and total membership of Senate, without the incoming representatives from the class of 2009, is 24. A quorum, commonly defined as consisting of 2/3 of the total Senate positions, did not exist at this point, effectively nullifying the appointment and confirmation of these new Senators and committee chairs.

There is no specific exposition of the term, “quorum,” within the Student Senate Constitution. Mottola explained that the Senate’s interpretation of this term may be vague since it is not explained, and that there is the “ possibility of making some changes to the constitution… to define quorums in the document for the future.”

As stated in Article 2, Section 4-11, “To appoint student representatives in the Student Senate positions in the case of a vacancy in that respective position for the time after First Year Student Class Senate election. This position is to be confirmed by a majority vote of the Student Senators.” In the Student Senate by-laws it is written that, “in the event of a vacancy after First-Year Student Senate Elections in the fall, the President of the Student Senate has the ability to appoint Senators or Officers with consent of the Executive Council,” confirmed with a vote from “the entire Student Senate,” (Article 4, Section 4).

The appointment of Senators, undertaken by President Wilkins, is prohibited by the Constitution until after First Year elections in the fall. In accordance with this provision, and the absence of an official quorum in the initial confirmation of the three appointed committee chairs, no official Senate meetings can occur until after first-year elections. If Student Senate is held to the stipulations and provisions within their Constitution, those in violation could be brought up on impeachment charges, if any member of the Senate believes they committed an impeachable offense (Article 4, Section A).

The constitutionality of the appointments in the absence of an official quorum, and in light of the clear prohibition placed on pre-fall semester senatorial appointments brings the validity of the recent Student Senate actions into question.

Tom Mottola commented that, “ The constitution states specifically that they [the appointments] were to be made after first year election. It doesn’t state specifics on quorum.” He later expressed that, “If the senators don’t feel the appointments are valid then they should have another election…If they decide it’s problematic [the appointments] then they’ll need to figure out how to get through the first couple weeks of school. Not much business is conducted then but you might have requests for money. A suggestion is that they just do business with the senators they do have in position.”

In response to the constitutionality of the appointments, Wilkins told Gburgforum.com that, “we will not be able to do much work on the issue until after finals as this is a busy time for us all.” He assured that “if any of the appointments had been made in violation of the constitution, Senate would take appropriate steps to remedy the concern.”