SA senators tighten attendance requirements, blast GW construction project

November 13, 2012

Sen. Hugo Scheckter, U-At-Large, a co-sponsor of an attendance reform bill that will require senators attend double the amount of meetings, votes for the controversial bill. Samuel Klein | Hatchet Staff Photographer

This post was written by Hatchet reporter Chris Hebdon

The Student Association Senate passed a bill to clamp down on members’ attendance records during a contentious, three-hour long meeting Monday.

Senators will now be required to attend 60 percent of meetings – double the previous mandate but less than the 80 percent initially proposed. The members also nixed part of the bill that would have eliminated senators’ ability to vote by proxy when absent from meetings.

The bill passed overwhelmingly after a fierce defense from Senate President Pro Tempore Michael Amesquita, who created the nonbinding resolution with the help of SA Executive Vice President Abby Bergren.

“I wanted 70 percent. I wanted everyone in their seats,” Amesquita, a second-year graduate student, added. “I don’t think the argument is that we make it too hard. I’m all for making it harder and getting people to commit.”

During an hour and a half discussion of the bill, senators proposed four amendments and nitpicked each amendment, spending more than 30 minutes debating whether changes should technically be bylaws or rules.

Some senators tried to move the meeting forward, calling out members for spending too much time on the internally focused bill.

“This is why the student body doesn’t like this body,” Sen. ‪James Bonneau, Graduate-At-Large said. “We’ve been wasting all this time on the internal reform.”

Sen. Will Rone, SEAS-G, said focusing on attendance will not necessarily further the organization’s drive to advance student causes.

“Attendance does not equal a voice. You must actually participate. It’s all about personal accountability,” he said. “It’s these kinds of cyclical rule changes that don’t really do anything. That’s not going to make them meet with administrators. That’s not going to make them get proactive.

Senators also put forth a bill opposing the University’s Square 75a construction project along Pennsylvania Avenue. Outlined in the 2007 Campus Plan, the project will raze properties like Froggy Bottom Pub, Mehran, Panda Cafe and Thai Place. It will go before the city’s zoning commission this week.

“We want to preserve institutions that GW and only GW students can mark their campus stay with,” Sen. Elizabeth Kennedy, U-At-Large, said. Kennedy, chair of the Student Life Committee, drafted the bill.

Senior Associate Vice President of Operations Alicia O’Neil Knight, who attended the meeting to present updates on construction, said she was taken aback by the bill and disappointed that the senators did not talk with her about their concerns before the bill hit the floor.

“From my perspective, there are many more constructive ways. There are other ways to have a dialogue that are more meaningful,” Knight said.

The resolution, which Bergren limited to 10 minutes because it was nearing midnight, faced a heated debate and was defeated with eight in favor, nine opposed and 10 abstentions.

The final bill of the night passed unanimously to slightly change the ballot question for the student fee referendum, which will be voted on Thursday.

The GW Hatchet

The GW Hatchet

SA senators tighten attendance requirements, blast GW construction project