SA Comments: Conduct of Members

Initial Findings

The Student Assembly suffers at the hands of inappropriate conduct of its representatives. An elected representative that makes a statement on behalf of the Student Assembly, or an elected representative that makes a promise — or perhaps, too, a threat — to another person or organization in their capacity as a Student Assembly representative does irreparable harm to our institution of self-governance. There must be a system in place to account for the conduct of Student Assembly representatives.

There is currently no means for suspending a Student Assembly representative. Discussion on the subject has pointed to the injustice done to one’s constituency that no longer has representation on the Student Assembly; a concern of particular note during contentious byline funding hearings. Student Assembly representatives must remain accountable for each others’ actions, and a system of oversight must be created to ensure that members will be held to a high standard, but protected, too, if they sit as the minority.

Potential Solutions

1. The Student Assembly should utilize the resources of the Division of University Communications, its administrative oversight at the university, to ensure that all new members are versed in professional conduct and communication. A training session, sponsored by the department and co-organized by elected leadership on the Student Assembly, should be held immediately following the elections of freshman and transfer representatives in the fall semester.
2. The Student Assembly could suspend the seating-privileges of an elected representative for a prescribed amount of time. This would ideally occur within the responsibilities assigned to a new judicial arm of the Student Assembly. In doing so, the Student Assembly must create and pass a resolution that determines the length that suspensions may last. In the event of a suspension, the 2nd place representative for a given elected seat would assume the interim voting responsibilities for that position.

Community Comments

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