GSC changes during Monday meeting
Lisa Dreher | Staff Writer
The Graduate Student Council changed its structure and procedures Monday by creating a preamble, summer Senate and judiciary branch.
GSC will go over constitutional changes at today’s meeting, which is different from it’s usual meeting agenda @ntdaily
— Lisa Dreher (@lisa_dreher97) March 7, 2016
The GSC Senate approved of a preamble for its constitution to explicitly state its purpose to serve as the official government for the graduate student body. The vote was 27-0.
“There was nothing explicit in our constitution that we were the government for graduate students” – GSC president Jesus Valero said — Lisa Dreher (@lisa_dreher97) March 7, 2016
Those with raised hands approve of a preamble to be added to the GSC constitution. No one opposed pic.twitter.com/Hy6MjepIJa
— Lisa Dreher (@lisa_dreher97) March 7, 2016
The GSC Senate also approved of changing its election of officers from occuring in just the first last full week of April to the whole month of April. GSC president Jesus Valero said this will broaden the time allowed for elections. GSC now allows peers within a senator’s academic department to have the power to elect senators, with a Senate vote 17-6, with one abstention vote.
GSC may have senators elected by their peers within their academic department pic.twitter.com/RPhnx41Lp9 — Lisa Dreher (@lisa_dreher97) March 8, 2016
Valero said a GSC summer Senate is needed to make changes and decisions before the fall semester, when the GSC’s term starts. The summer will be a period for preparation, so changes will not have to be made during a busy starting semester when the term actually starts.
Sociology major Jacquie Cheun observed how SGA functions and its summer program where senators who volunteer serve over the break.
“It was a great mentoring program as well” sociology major Jacquie Cheun said on having senators serve over the summer
— Lisa Dreher (@lisa_dreher97) March 8, 2016
Senators considered how only appointing 10 senators for the summer would affect the fair representation of graduate students and their departments in how the ratio of students to senators is balanced.
GSC pres says 10 summer senators would suffice. “We are trying to mirror what we do in this regard,” GSC president Jesus Valero said. — Lisa Dreher (@lisa_dreher97) March 8, 2016
A senator asks whether copying SGA’s procedures for GSC would be best
— Lisa Dreher (@lisa_dreher97) March 8, 2016
GSC president Jesus Valero said that GSC functions differently from SGA, so they won’t copy every procedure of theirs — Lisa Dreher (@lisa_dreher97) March 8, 2016
A summer Senate was created 19 to 6, with two abstention votes.
Valero said he belives GSC lacks a third, unbiased branch to oversee the GSC Senate and Executive branches, and make decisions when there are diverging opinions.
“The intention behind this is to act as a checks and balances system. It is a check that is very common in a governing body system,” GSC director of communications Sarah Ferguson said.
Senators approve of making justices to be confirmed by a simple GSC Senate majority vote. Judiciary branch yet to be voted on to be created
— Lisa Dreher (@lisa_dreher97) March 8, 2016
The judiciary branch passed 21 to 3, with one senator abstaining.
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