The Student Government Association’s (SGA) latest meeting turned into a debate on how to legally mend the organization’s constitution to conduct business with fewer members, a reaction to years of being unable to hold meetings due to a lack of attendance.
Senate Bill110906-29, proposed by President Eron McCormick and Senator Al Cordero, would change quorum – the amount of SGA members need to conduct business – from the 10 needed now to a formula requiring 33 percent of all serving members to be present to constitute quorum.
This proposed amendment to the SGA constitution means SGA business, including approving funding for student groups, could be conducted with as few as eight members.
The SGA has 23 elected members: 20 senators, the president, vice-president and speaker. Since there are currently three senator positions vacant, official business could be conducted with as few as seven members if the proposed bill were passed.
Vice President Denise Franklin stepped in as soon as the debate on the bill opened and said it was an attempt to establish a small group of senators who would rule without input from others outside their circle.
Franklin said that the bill is “an attempt to create a clique. You can have the same nine senators at every meeting.” Senator Robert Morris quickly echoed Franklin’s comments, saying that the bill would undermine senate attendance.
Both Franklin and Morris were countered by Student Trustee Peter Michalczyk, who accused Franklin of misleading statements concerning the ability of small group of senators and executives forming a shadow government of sorts that would fail to include other members of the SGA.
“That is an absurd lie. The Illinois Open Meetings Act says all senators must be given 48-hour notice [of a meeting being held],” Michalczyk said.
Senator Rick Garcia, a sponsor of the bill with McCormick and Cordero, was the only one of the three to attend the debate, as McCormick left the meeting after a brief appearance and Cordero was on vacation.
Garcia challenged Franklin’s assertions of a conspiracy surrounding the bill, saying the proposed amendment was about “creating a stronger student government,” for now and for future incarnations of the SGA.
The quorum bill, along with another bill that would have granted voting privileges to the IBHE-SAC representative and the student trustee, were postponed until the Dec. 7 SGA meeting. Both bills would require a three-fourths supermajority for passage.
Debate on the voting bill became heated as Franklin, Morris and Rose teamed up to challenge the merits of the proposed legislation. Their main point of contention was that both the trustee and IBHE-SAC representative already voted on other bodies.
In other senate business, funding was approved for three organizations, and a fourth club was given permission for a change of purpose for existing funds. The Image Art Club was approved for $650 for a lecture series, the CMENC was given $2318 for a convention and Hillel was granted $500 for a holiday event. The Apocalypse Literary Arts Coalition (ALAC) was allowed to use money previously slotted for outside advertising for mailings.
The next SGA meeting is Thursday, Dec. 7 at 1:40 pm in SU 003, where the main subject will be the university’s presentation of tuition increases for next school year, some of which would increase tuition and fees as much as 25 percent.