In response to the recent termination of former ASPSU Vice President Lauren Morency and the apparent miscommunication by major parties handling the procedure, the Student Senate established an ad-hoc committee last week to address any pitfalls in the organization’s constitution.
According to the by-laws drafted to guide the committee, the primary duties involve the analysis of case studies in which ASPSU’s policies were called into question.
The commission, now officially titled the Policies and Procedures Committee, will identify issues in the constitution and ultimately draft and present amended policies that will ensure proper functioning within ASPSU as a whole. Though the committee is presently deemed temporary, it’s likely that the Senate will vote for its institution as a permanent entity.
The committee was proposed in order to better understand how to handle situations for which the constitution is vague or a resolution is absent altogether. The intent is to examine how constitutional issues were handled both at
Portland State and by members of student government at other universities.
“This is actually something we conceived back in September,” said the newly-appointed Vice President Ethan Smith. “This would be a committee to maintain an institutional knowledge of the policies here at ASPSU. Because we’re made up of students, our turnover rate is very high. I believe that the longest serving senator has only been here 18 months. With such a short term, it’s hard to really get a working knowledge of the constitution.”
Though the committee has no official investigative power, the first case study it is likely to create is one that simulates the events that transpired regarding vacating Morency’s seat.
On Jan. 6, the Judicial Board received a notification from Student Activities and Leadership Program, which oversees all student groups. The notification warned the J-Board that four ASPSU members were rendered academically ineligible, including Morency.
According to Morency, she had an incomplete grade due to personal reasons. During the J-Board hearing, she said that her professor told her that her grade should change before Friday, Jan. 14. The J-Board decided to vacate the seat at least temporarily, to follow the proper protocol, and reinstate Lauren after the grade went through.
However, at the Senate meeting on Jan. 11, the former President Pro Tempore Ethan Smith was appointed as the new vice president. This was also the first time that the senators had been notified about Morency’s seat vacancy.
Morency said that, additionally, she was not told that her seat would be filled, and the new vice president was established before her grades were released.
“When I left the Judicial Board meeting, I was under the impression that once my incomplete grade was submitted, the decision would be rescinded,” Morency said during an official Policies and Procedures Committee meeting.
In response, a representative from the J-Board stated that the meeting was full of hypothetical scenarios, and “what-ifs,” stating that no clear plans to handle the decision were discussed.
“It’s instances of uncertainty and ambiguity like this that highlight the need for a board with a greater understanding of how these systems work together,” Morency said. “Even though I’m no longer officially a member of ASPSU, I really appreciate this committee and feel that it will only benefit the organization.”
Despite the overwhelming sense of urgency that the senators admitted to feeling prior to the decision to fill the seats, ASPSU President Katie Markey stated that it was, from an executive standpoint, the best decision.
“I wasn’t notified of any appeals to the J-Board’s decision, and it’s my job to fill those seats as quickly as possible,” she said.
Though the Policies and Procedures Committee is still in its infancy, testimony is already being heard from the J-Board, Morency, Markey and Smith.
“Right now, our job is to look at processes we can improve so incidents like this never happen again,” said committee member Adam Rhamlow. “We need to have an internal look at the executive staff, and a discussion with the J-board, and make sure decisions like these are never rushed…We need to make sure we have proper time to fact-check everything.”
The committee will operate in an official capacity for five weeks. At the end of this period, its continuation will be subject to a Senate vote.