When Ben Jones assumed his post as parliamentarian of the 57th Session, he promised to stamp out contradictory procedures and refine the Student Association’s existing codes.

Jones, who has spearheaded bills and modifications to the way SA conducts meetings this semester, continued on that trajectory Monday evening in Maxwell Auditorium. He introduced a bill that would make attendance mandatory for assembly representatives at all board or committee meetings in which they belong. The same bill would also reduce the penalty for missed meetings from two demerits to one per absence.

Contrary to SA’s existing codes, which state each missed committee or board meeting amounts to two demerits, the organization currently assigns just one demerit, or penalty, per absence. Passing the bill at next week’s meeting would essentially implement a practice that has already gone on, unchecked, within SA.

“No one reads the ethics codes, so moral of the story is, read the ethics codes,” Jones advised the assembly.

The second half of the bill would also make attendance at these meetings mandatory for all assembly representatives, regardless of the number of committees or boards they serve on. Currently, each representative selects a primary committee or board, such as Student Life or Student Engagement, to serve on. Attendance is not mandatory for any secondary committees or boards to which the assembly member might belong.

Though Jones said the bill didn’t develop out of response to low meeting attendance, he said passing the bill would shore up any doubt and hold members more accountable.

“I feel that if you’re going to step up for another responsibility, you should be punished for not going,” said Jones in response to a representative who questioned if the bill would place an added burden on members.

In addition to Jones’s bill proposal, Finance Board member Lucia Ha was confirmed as assistant comptroller. Earlier this semester, sophomore Patrick Douglas was confirmed to the same position. The position would introduce the pair to comptroller duties, as both have comptroller ambitions. Ha’s transition from Finance Board member to assistant comptroller leaves the board — which votes on funding requests from registered student organizations — with seven voting members and three vacancies.

Ha said that in addition to developing her financial skills, she’d like to focus on better informing the student body of SA’s budget and appeal procedure.

“Last semester, when organizations came to us, only 50 percent came back for appeals, and I think that’s a really low number,” she said.

Other business discussed:

• The Disability Student Union was presented a $100 check for being selected    the Registered Student Organization of the Month. The Student Life    Committee received 12 applications for the award, the most since the program began.
• University Union President Lindsey Colegrove presented a PowerPoint detailing the process behind selecting entertainment acts for events coordinated by the organization, such as Juice Jam and Block Party. In response to criticism that UU selects primarily rhythm and blues and hip-hop performers for larger scale events, Colegrove cited cost, venue and artist availability, as well as responses indicated on student surveys, as methods behind the bookings.
• The Department of Public Safety Advisory Board is working on making campus officers more approachable to students. Among the events discussed is a pancake meal served to students by DPS officers.

Published on February 26, 2013 at 12:46 am

Contact Debbie: dbtruong@syr.edu | @debbietruong