Senate Briefs


Senator and Commissioner of the year

After approval of the preceding meeting's minutes, ASPC President Phil Kopczynski '03 distributed ballots to the senators for the Senator and Commissioner of the Year awards. The results will be announced at the annual transition dinner, May 5 at Neil Gerard's house.

Budget Proposal Released

Vice President Julia Patzelt '03 then presented the 2003-04 ASPC budget proposal prepared by the ASPC Budget Committee. During the budget preparation process, student clubs and organizations were all allowed to present budget proposals and then were each given 10-15 minutes to argue their case. However, Kopczynski pointed out that "The Senate is not meant to just be a rubber stamp on this process." Therefore, senators will take the next week to look over the budget plan before approving it at next week's meeting May 6.

Senators seek Bylaw revision

Kopczynski then turned the floor over to Academic Affairs Commissioner Sam Glick '04 to present the findings of last week's committee appointed to investigate possible revisions to the ASPC bylaws and constitution. Environmental Affairs Commissioner Josh Tulkin, Patzelt, President-elect Ari Greenberg, Vice President-elect Julia Stiglitz and Associate Director of the Smith Campus Center Dave Swenson all met with Glick Saturday to review the current bylaws and constitution. Glick informed senators that the committee looked for outdated items (duties senators no longer perform and committees that don't exist) as well as items that have been problematic in the past.

Glick first presented proposed changes to the bylaws as these require only a three fourths majority vote of senators present to change while constitutional alterations require a three-fifths majority vote by students in a school-wide election. The current bylaws are available to all students via the ASPC website. Glick first proposed eliminating Article I since the ASPC has no authority over judicial procedures. Glick informed senators that the Student Affairs Committee oversees judicial procedures, and the Senate has no control over such faculty committees. Minor changes were also recommended to Article II, Section 1, Part 1 to fix what was thought to be a typo.

Glick then voiced the concern that currently no portion of the bylaws governs Senate spending. He proposed altering Article II, Section 1, Part 2 to read "All Senate funding decisions shall be subject to the ASPC Budget Committee Bylaws." Director of the Smith Campus Center Neil Gerard pointed out that this would mean the Senate would be bound by the bylaws of one of its subcommittees. Thus it was suggested that the ASPC Budget Committee Bylaws be renamed the ASPC Funding Guidelines.

On behalf of Tulkin who was not present, Glick then raised the idea of altering Article II, Section 1, Part 8 which dictates the make-up of the Coop Committee to require the inclusion of one student at-large member in addition to the committee's current members: ASPC Vice President, the Residence Halls and Food Commissioner, a member of the Senate and the general manager of the Coop Fountain and Store. Current Coop Committee members Residence Halls and Food Commissioner Evan Sirc '03, Senior Class President Ji Chong '03, and Patzelt viewed this change as unnecessary. Sirc said he would even be willing to give up his 50% Coop Fountain discount to prevent such added bureaucracy, should it be necessary. Chong quickly reprimanded Sirc saying, "You weren't supposed to tell anyone about that."

Glick next brought the senators' attention to Article II, Section 1, Part 9 which establishes a course review committee. Since the course review committee has not been called during his three years at Pomona, Glick felt this paragraph should be eliminated. All duties given to the committee are currently carried out by a paid course review staff and thus Glick no longer see any need to refer to a course review committee in the bylaws. Stacy Roth '03 told the senators that she was very concerned about removing entire portions of the bylaws. Roth considered the bylaws to be very old and thus had serious misgivings about altering them after a few minutes' discussion. Kopczynski then pointed out that the bylaws are reviewed in this manner nearly every year. Sirc said that "there is no hidden political agenda being pushed forward here." Sophomore Class President Michael Owen '05 added that removing bylaws which refer to committees that don't exist makes the document more transparent to the student body as a whole.

The committee's next concern regarding the senate bylaws focused on Article II, Section 1, Parts 13, 14, and 19 as well as Sections 2, 3, and 4 which all refer to committees convened either by the five colleges, the faculty, the alumni, or the trustees. Glick pointed out that the ASPC has no authority over such committees and thus these portions of the bylaws should be rewritten so as not to dictate the makeup of such committees. It was suggested that the bylaws should include which committees senators are obliged to sit on and exactly what authority they have to replace these positions. Roth said these portions of the bylaws should only be changed if the fundamental composition of the committees were changed.

Glick then sought to move on to Article III which governs ASPC employees, yielding the floor to Patzelt who had voiced the majority of concerns regarding this article during the review committee's discussions. Kopczynski, however, pointed out that Patzelt was "standing out in the hall for no reason," which prompted Sirc to exclaim, "Quick, let's pass legislation she would normally oppose!"

Kopczynski then clarified for the senators that changing the actual ASPC constitution requires a three fifths majority vote from a campus-wide student election, and therefore the committee's recommendations regarding constitutional changes will be left for the 2003-04 Senate to consider.

Glick next transitioned into discussing concerns about the ASPC Budget Committee Bylaws. Patzelt explained that Article II, Section 7 of these bylaws basically states that no student fees can be spent on or given to charitable organizations. As a result, each year problems arise when Pomona organizations with connections to charities request funding. Patzelt presented the example of Pomona's SHARE organization which helps homeless men and women to find jobs. SHARE was denied ASPC funding for copying of educational materials to distribute to the homeless about searching for employment; however, the ASPC did grant SHARE funding for transportation and for copying flyers advertising the organization to Pomona students. This section also could be interpreted to prohibit the Professor Services Auction which is an ASPC event that raises money for a charity.

Glick then presented the last bylaw revision proposition, sharing some ideas for bringing Article IV, which governs the alcohol fund, into line with the new alcohol policy. Glick also recommended making it clear to students and student groups that they can apply early to get money for alcohol beforehand so that they don't have to pay out of pocket.

Sushi Dinner to End year, Funds

CCLA Commissioner Sarah Sherrod '03 and Off Campus Representative Sam Gaines '03, who were empowered last week to plan an end of the year event to finish off the remainder of the 2002-03 Senate's funds, presented their plans for a sushi dinner. The two have prepared initial plans to purchase a large quantity of high-quality sushi from a Japanese restaurant, which will be supplemented by some more affordable sushi purchased from Costco. Gaines and Sherrod also hope to use CCLA funds to bring a Japanese Keg to the event as well. The event is currently planned for May 2. Senators recommended using the Smith Campus Center Courtyard for the main event and using the Coop Fountain to serve any alcohol.