Student Assembly

Dear President Skorton,

I would like to formally communicate to you SA Resolutions 56, 57, and 58. The three resolutions address the creation of the new Student Assembly Judicial Commission.

After many discussions with the sponsors, the Ombudsman, the JA, and with the help of your Counsel, we have produced an entirely new framework that alleviates the concerns that were brought to our attention last semester.

R.56: Creation of Student Assembly Judicial Commission — Bylaws Change - The SA has now created a distinction between committees and commissions, allowing commissions like the SAFC to operate independently, but still with SA oversight. This ensured that the SA was not transferring or relinquishing any of its authority to another body, which was one of the concerns of Counsel.

The Judicial Commission provides an avenue to resolve internal disputes of the SA, matters pertaining to the compliance of organizations funded by the SA with SA policies, and also provides a venue for voluntary mediation for both students and student organizations. The SAJC will be chaired by the SA Parliamentarian, who is currently responsible for overseeing the SA’s compliance with parliamentary procedure.

Due to our clerks being out, the following amendment to R.56 is not reflected in the attached versions, but were approved by the SA:

Lines 13–15 were amended to read:

Whereas, the SA wishes to avoid the appearance of such conflicts of interest by establishing an independent commission charged with reviewing disputes or conflicts that pertain to the SA’s internal policies and procedures; and

Whereas, the SA also wishes to provide a mechanism for the voluntary mediation of disputes between registered undergraduate student organizations.

This was the recommendation of Counsel, and it helps to clearly articulate that the mediation of disputes between student organizations or individual students is voluntary and non-binding.

R.57: Approval of Student Assembly Judicial Commission Charter & Bylaws - This resolution simply calls for the approval of the attached charter and bylaws of the SAJC. Not included in the bylaws of the SAJC at this moment are procedures for mediation hearings. After being advised by the Scheinman Institute and individuals from the Ombudsman’s office, we felt it best to wait until the commissioners were selected and trained to develop these procedures. That way, these procedures would be developed by individuals who had formal training in facilitation and mediation.

An amendment that came from Counsel and was approved by the SA, is also not listed in the attached bylaws. The amendment is a reflection of the previously mentioned amendment in R.56 and reads as follows:

1. Commission Overview 1.1. The SAJC may review any actions of the Student Assembly to ensure that they have conducted themselves within the bounds of their Charter, Bylaws, Standing Rules, and other governing documents. The Commission may also issue preliminary interpretations of the SA Charter, Bylaws or other governing documents, though final interpretation will ultimately be decided by the President of the University. The SAJC may also review the actions of any SA funded organization when a dispute arises under their governing documents or violations of policies set forth by the SA and the Office of the Dean of Students. 1.2 The SAJC may also mediate disputes between undergraduate students and student organizations where both parties agree to submit the dispute to mediation. Such mediation shall be non-binding.

R.58: Creation of Student Assembly Judicial Commission — Standing Rules Change - This is a change to our current Standing Rules that just ensures that the President & Executive Vice President cannot serve as ex-officio members of the SAJC. This helps to maintain the neutrality and independence of the SAJC.

The resolutions and supporting documents are attached for your reference.

Regards,

Ulysses