Constitutional Conference Discusses Public Hearing, Proposed Revisions

Editor-in-Chief

   Members of the Constitutional Conference discussed statements made at the public hearing held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11.

Photo by Danielle Kloap

Conference - Senior criminal justice major Jeff McDonald listens as Clerk Yvonne Hinshaw read the previous meetings minutes. The conference announced its plans to have all revisions approved by the conference members Feb. 25.

   Eric Bell, asked what members thought about the comments former Student Government Association Vice President Brad Sears, a senior forestry and wildlife management major, made in the public hearing. Sears said he felt the current SGA structure was too complicated and did not focus as much on the student body (for more information click here).

   Tiffany Reed, a first-year early childhood education major, said making the senate a lot smaller could result in a group of people with the same agenda with no checks and balances for those people.

   “It wouldn’t represent the student body as a whole,” Reed said.

   Bell asked how many people would serve on the Student Activities Board with voting rights and Tucker said 11. When Bell asked if those 11 would represent the whole student body, Reed pointed out the 60 student organization representatives that will be non-voting members will act as a check for the board.

   Tucker said if members were concerned about the senate becoming too big, the constitution could put a cap on the number of members and define what departments senators will represent in the constitution.

   “The constitution could put a cap or the senate itself could put a cap (on the number of senators allowed in the senate),” Tucker said.

   Yvonne Hinshaw, a junior political science major and clerk for the conference, asked what would happen to senate positions if a department had no students run for those positions. Tucker said each position not filled could remain empty and would be another way to keep the senate from becoming too big.

   “If people choose not to have their own voice heard, that’s their own issue,” Reed said. “We can’t force them to participate.”

   Tucker said the unfilled positions would not cause the senate to not meet a quorum. The quorum, 51 percent of the membership, only depends on the members on the senate roll, according to Tucker.

   As far as electing senators from the different departments, Tucker said the election commission would get a list of students and what major their department falls under prior to the election. When students vote, the commission members will check their department and let them know which line on the scantron they should use to vote for their department’s senate candidates.

   During chair remarks, sophomore political science major Zack Tucker said after speaking with Chancellor Jack Lassiter about the constitution, he discovered the constitution cannot be ratified until the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees votes on it in June.

   Tucker said before the constitution makes it to the board, it must be voted on in the conference, approved by Student Government Association Michael Thomas, passed through the Student Senate, voted on by the student body, approved by the Assembly and Lassiter.

   The conference plans to have the constitution completed and ready to be voted on by its meeting Feb. 25, according to Tucker. He said this would give Thomas time to review it over spring break in March and have it approved and passed through the senate before it goes to the student body in elections the first week of April.

   The conference talked through proposed changes to certain sections of the constitution. The major proposed changes discussed comprise the qualifications for certain executive board, SAB and senate positions.

•    SGA president and vice president: Must be a full-time student and have completed 36 semester hours, attend 10 SGA meetings per semester prior to election, including Student Senate, SGA and SAB, be active in SGA for at least one year prior to election and maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0.

•    Senators: Must be a full-time student and have completed 24 semester hours, attend at least five SGA meetings per semester prior to election, including Student Senate, SGA and SAB and maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.75.

   Absent members comprised Ronald Forte, Hunter Gillum and Lauren Raynor.

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