Senators call emergency meeting
MEGHANNE DOWNES
Associate News Editor
Eight senators submitted a petition Friday to Trip Foley, student body vice president, calling for an emergency meeting to discuss the position of Libby Bishop, student body president, regarding in-hall dances in her report to the Board of Trustees on Thursday.
This petition followed a lengthy debate at Wednesday's Senate meeting regarding the failed resolution to attach a letter to Bishop's report asking for in-hall dances to be reinstated.
Section II Article II of the Student Union Constitution states that a minimum of five senators is needed to call an emergency meeting.
The petition said the reason for the meeting was "to present a unified student voice on the issue of reinstating the SYR for a probationary period of one year beginning in the fall of 2003." The petition also called for an evaluation and discussion of Bishop's report. The petition said each senator should be given the opportunity to represent his opinion in order to gauge an accurate understanding of student opinion.
The agenda set by Foley states that the purpose of the meeting is to discuss and review the Board of Trustees report.
Rick Harris, Siegfried Hall senator, said he organized the petition because he and other senators felt they should be given the opportunity to express what they thought Bishop should emphasize.
"I received information from a member of Libby's office that her report that she would be giving would include a recommendation for one in hall dance per hall per year," Harris said. "I felt and other senators felt this would be a big compromise from the stance that we wanted where dances should be brought back for a probationary period."
Harris said a resolution addressing Bishop will be presented and it will state the Senate's view. Harris referred to the constitution when he said he and others feel Bishop should respect their opinion. Article II Section II of the constitution states that the Senate shall formulate and advance the position of the student body on all issues concerning campus life.
A resolution is a call for action and must be passed by a two-thirds vote. The president must sign it within a week for it to be adopted.
Bishop said during the debate of the resolution at Wednesday's meeting that the letter asking for the reinstatement of in-hall dances would have been superfluous and detracted from her report. This influenced some senators to vote against the letter. Bishop initially supported the letter, but said she changed her mind after reading drafts of it. Bishop said after the meeting that she would have welcomed and referenced the letter in her report had it been addressed to her.
Kevin Conley, chair of the Residence Life committee that presented the letter, said after the meeting he intended to discuss the letter and who to address it to at Monday's Residence Life committee meeting. Conley, who signed the petition for the emergency meeting, said he thought it was important that student opinion is voiced and that he still intends to discuss the status of the letter at Monday's Residence Life committee meeting.
All News Stories for Monday, February 3, 2003
