Student Council is facing a closure beginning Oct. 1 after failing to appoint a Rules and Ethics Board in the first meeting of the fall semester. During this closure, Student Council will be barred from meetings and allocating funds.
President Abraham Axler said he is working to correct this oversight of the bylaws essential to the running of the Council.
“[This issue is] a three-year bind we’re trying to break through,” Axler, a third-year College student, said. “Student Council should’ve been in closure for all of last year.”
College Representative Uhunoma Edamwen, a second-year student, said when the issue was previously brought up weeks ago, Axler said Council would do something about it.
“This issue was foreseen. People knew about it; it is in the bylaws,” Edamwen said. “They haven’t dealt with it until now.”
Axler knew past presidents had not appointed a board but said he did not realize the implications of lacking a Rules and Ethics Board so close to Oct. 1.
“I’m embarrassed that we waited so long to try to sort it out,” Axler said. “We should’ve addressed it earlier. But I’m very glad we’re going to address it effectively now.”
While Student Council is now working to pass a bill to escape closure, it likely will not be passed until next week at the earliest.
The bylaws in question, last amended in September to accord with general changes to recruitment, mandate that the members of the Rules and Ethics Board attend a new member orientation and taking an online quiz before assuming their appointment. The deadlines for both have passed.
The bylaws require the outgoing Rules and Ethics Board, which currently does not exist, to administer a new quiz to the incoming Board.
Batten Representative Alex Gregorio, who brought the issue before Student Council, said the issue arose from unintended consequences of recent changes to recruitment.
“These are things we didn’t intend — and no one really saw coming — about what exactly you would need to do to be a part of the Rules and Ethics Board,” Gregorio said.
During the impending closure, Student Council will only be able to meet to complete business necessary to return to full operating status.
“We’re really constricted in terms of what we can do to actually help the student body [during closure],” Gregorio said.
Because this closure is happening around the time of the University’s fall break, Gregorio said he expects bills will be prepared to modify the bylaws and appoint an Ethics Board as soon as students return, allowing members to focus on how to avoid closure in the future.
“This was an example of something that slipped through the cracks,” Gregorio said. “Personally, I want to try and make sure this is something that doesn’t happen again.”
Student Council will propose a bill addressing this problem during its next Special Session. Axler will review applications and submit a bill proposing members of the Board.
Gregorio said he also hopes to submit a bill forming a bylaw review committee to increase oversight.
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