Student Assembly

As discussed Thursday, 8 February 2007.

Whereas, the Student Assembly is a body whose members represent a combined total of thousands of students on the Cornell campus;

Whereas, SA representatives, like their counterparts in the U.S. Congress and similar bodies throughout the world, have the right and the responsibility to communicate with their constituents on the issues of the day;

Whereas, Rule 12 of the 2006 — 2007 Student Assembly Standing Rules gives them this right, asserting that “representatives may communicate regularly with their constituents through e-mail mailing lists and listserves, which may be maintained by � the Department of Campus Life,” among others;

Whereas, number (5) in Bylaw 4.2.c.5 of the Charter of the Cornell University Student Assembly gives to the SA Vice President for Public Relations the responsibility of “[a]ssist[ing] SA members and committee chairs in their outreach programs”;

Whereas, an e-mail to be sent by an SA member to his or her constituents or to other concerned parties in the Cornell community most definitely qualifies as “outreach,” and, to be sure, falls well within the realm of public relations;

Whereas, there is currently no process for determining when the Vice President for Public Relations � or any member of the SA Executive Committee � must, on behalf of an SA representative seeking to send out a bulk e-mail, request permission from the Vice President for Student and Academic Services or other administrator for that person to be allowed to do so, regardless of his or her personal judgment on the matter;

Be it therefore resolved that the Student Assembly will create and enforce Standing Rule 34, to read as follows:

“Any SA member who wishes to send an e-mail which requires pre-approval from the Vice President for Student and Academic Services � or any other Cornell administrator � must first submit a copy of the proposed e-mail for inclusion as an attachment on the agenda of the next scheduled SA meeting, where it will fall under Business of the Day. Members will then vote on whether or not they wish to see the proposed e-mail go forward. If a simple majority is reached, the Vice President for Public Relations and the remaining members of the SA Executive Committee must, in good faith, take all necessary and helpful steps to try to ensure the successful delivery of the e-mail to its intended recipients.”

Respectfully submitted,

Mark Coombs ‘08 Executive Vice President