Senate
draws criticism from adviser, appoints
justices
By
Joseph Serna
Online Forty-Niner
Assistant City Editor
The
first hours of the Associated Students
Senate meeting led to more questions than
answers Wednesday, with a former senator
accusing the Senate of corruption and elitism,
while it tried to rectify a mistake.
An injunction was placed on the ASI elections after it was found that the Senate
had never approved the elections handbook, a requirement for the elections
to be valid.
According to Elections Commissioner Cortney Ronald, Executive Director Richard
Haller and Vice President Hironao Okahana, while they had approved the elections
handbook months ago, somewhere in the process from Senate approval through
all the officials who need to sign off on it, the words “elections handbook” were
removed from the paperwork that was ultimately filed.
The simple deletion of two words has led to a potential postponement of ASI
elections, which both the Judiciary and Senate are trying to avoid with the
temporary injunction, giving the Senate a brief window to correct its mistake
and formerly approve the election handbook.
In response to the injunction, the chairman of the Senate invoked “Romero’s
Law” within the California Education Code to add an emergency agenda
item (the elections handbook) to Wednesday’s meeting.
The law permits the Senate to add an item to the agenda without the 72 hours
normally required, which gives the public ample time to access it.
They hit a roadblock, however, when former College of Engineering Senator and
ASI presidential candidate Uduak-Joe Ntuk cited the same law, explaining they
cannot add an item to the meeting’s agenda without two-thirds approval
from the senators present.
“
Is there a problem with me holding you accountable? Am I a meddler? I don’t
think so,” Ntuk told the senators during the public comments portion
of the meeting.
He said he has no problem with them voting on the item, but he wanted to make
sure it was by the books.
“
Right now it’s a free for all, there’s no rules.”
Ntuk hinted that perhaps the Senate broke ASI bylaws intentionally and they
were corrupt for not providing sufficient notice or opportunities for students
to fill ASI positions.
Okahana said he would not justify a response to the corruption accusations,
and that any violation of California or ASI laws was unintentional. In the
end, the Senate voted not to discuss the election handbook at all, instead
putting themselves in a position to approve it next week without having an
opportunity to change it.
Any proposed changes would take an extra week to be approved, which is two
days after elections are set to begin.
The lack of discussion left Okahana more than a little disappointed.
“
If we prove that we can’t function as a body, we’ll be forcing
the university to intervene,” he said. “Today we delayed, we lacked
the capacity to see things in the big picture…and that’s what concerns
me. How can I justify a delay in the elections to the students?”
After Ntuk voiced his disdain for the Senate, Student Government Adviser Kim
Hickson addressed her own issues with the Senate.
“
To start I need to say there have been some sexist and inappropriate remarks
made toward me by a member of this board, which as I
note opens up this corporation for a lawsuit,” she said.
“
I believe we live in a world where our U.S. president through policy and
public support lie about reasons for going to war, whether one inhaled an
illegal drug, or the fact that our government is partaking in dismissing
our civil liberties in the sake of national security.”
She said today’s poor leaders may be setting a bad example for the fledgling
leaders on campuses across the nation.
“
It seems that those students attempting to cause chaos on this campus have
lost sight of the purpose of participating in student government and what
it means to be a student leader,” Hickson said. “It is a privilege
to serve.”
Following her comments, particularly about the possibility of a lawsuit, which
were reiterated by Haller later in the meeting, the Senate quickly moved into
a more businesslike tone.
After some intense questioning, the Senators appointed Dana Randazzo as an
associate justice, 7-6, with five senators abstaining.
Laura Nieto was also appointed an associate justice, and Melissa Duque was
appointed public relations commissioner.
The only resolution passed at the meeting was the “Parking Equity Resolution,” which
states that if faculty are to get parking in any new parking structures, they’re
fees have to be the same as students’, according to ASI President Jaime
Pollock.
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