ASG Senate and executive board convened Wednesday night, with the turbulent weather providing a fitting backdrop for the contentious discussions over senate reform and spring student group funding.
- A seven-person task force put together two weeks ago to draft new legislation in the ongoing Senate restructuring debate presented its initial proposal to Senate as new business.
The plan calls for 34 senators representing four caucuses: 10 senators from the Residence Hall Association and the Residential College Board, eight from the Greek community, 11 from student groups and five off-campus senators.
Student groups would apply for a Senate seat in a yearly election process each fall, with groups encouraged to band together in coalitions with similar interests. The groups would devise their own election procedures, and an ASG seat committee would review and approve proposals.
As new business, the latest reform plan was only discussed for 15 minutes at Wednesday’s meeting, but much more discussion is set to continue. By ASG code, any reform proposal requires a campus forum before going to vote, and the executive board set a tentative date for next Monday at 7 p.m. A venue has not yet been finalized.
After the forum, the plan will be voted on as old business in two weeks at the final Senate meeting of the school year.
- Three new members were confirmed to join ASG’s executive board, after going through an extensive interview process with the exec board selection committee.
Freshman David Harris and sophomore Ethan Romba were confirmed as vice president of services and vice president of technology, respectively, without debate in unanimous votes.
Sophomore Steven Monacelli’s confirmation to the post of community relations vice president stirred some debate, though, as Monacelli unseated Ethan Merel for the position. Merel held the spot over the past year and was a key player in ASG’s relations with Evanston aldermen during the “brothel law” controversy that swept campus last winter. He also headed the committee that recently launched a survey system for evaluating off-campus housing locations.
- Senators heard suggestions from the Student Activities Finance Committee and fielded financing proposals from student group leaders in the spring funding session to allot money for next school year. The committee is headed by Financial Vice President Jeremy Yablon.