On Wednesday, October 10, the Student Senate gathered for the third time this semester in the Wheatley Building Student Lounge on the fourth floor at 2:30pm, in a meeting that probably made the State Legislature look good in comparison. It started with a dubiously legal “twenty-minute” executive session that lasted closer to forty. It kept rolling with the resignation of Senator H. Todd Babbitt, and climaxed with a scramble to ratify the position of ombudsperson, which effectively sent the entire Senate spinning into utter chaos.

Minutes into the meeting, student observers and members of the press were kicked out of the room so the Senate could hold an “executive session,” for what Senate President Joseph Panciotti called “internal housekeeping.” Only senators, the Assistant Dean of Students, Angeline Lopes, and the Director of Student Life, Joyce Morgan, were allowed to stay inside. It is not clear whether or not two-thirds of the Student Senate actually voted to go into executive session. According to a number of senators, a two-thirds vote is needed for the Student Senate to convene an executive session.

In a surprising move, while Robert’s Rules of Order were in suspension, Senator J. Stone Laraway made a motion to nominate Christopher Garner for Student Ombudsman and to ratify the job and make the position effective October 17, 2002. “This position should be established as a 3/4 time position until January 1, 2003…”

Confusion broke out amongst the senators and Senator Laraway was asked to repeat and restate the motion several times. President Panciotti called the motion “out of order”, but Garner, who was seated in the audience, interrupted to say that the rules were suspended, and it was possible to make another motion. Senator Jesse Solomon seconded the motion. Student Trustee and Senator Dawood expressed outrage and extreme disappointment, especially after the CCA had already agreed to hire a consultant. Dawood felt that the position needed further development, to build a strong foundation, and not one of “popsicle sticks and tape.”

Senator Robert Comerford chimed in from the opposite side, saying, “I’m surprised it’s taking this long to get to the floor.” Six weeks have already passed since the initiative was taken up.

Nancy Derby, editor of the Watermark and an audience member, voiced concerns about not being able to speak about what went on at last Monday’s CCA meeting, and she was told to stick to the point by President Panciotti. When Senator Laraway tried to bring up a point, he was also ruled out of order. At one point Garner yelled out from the audience, “Don’t expose corruption, stick to the point!”

Senator Tuan Pham made the motion of precedence to send the issue back to committee. A five-minute “thirty-second recess” was called, and frantic lobbying for swing votes by both sides took place.

The official vote was 6 for sending it back and 6 against, with 2 abstentions, exposing a deep rift within the Senate. President Panciotti cast the tiebreaker for sending it back.

In an e-mail several days later, one senator questioned whether some of the “new senators could have made an informed decision based on 30 seconds of rapid fire one sided lobbying on the part of the senators,” especially since two of them approached the senator and admitted they did not understand the position during the recess. Nearly half the veteran senators were absent or in class.

“At this point, the issue of the ombudsman has become a joke,” said Garner later in the week, when asked to comment on the meeting. “Because, it’s really not about the university anymore. It’s really not about whether or not this university has the capacity to develop it or create it or who’s qualified– what this comes down to is that certain people inside the Senate want control.”

Also covered during the 10/09 Senate meeting:

–Vice President Tuan Pham filed a report stating since the following senators missed two meetings in a row, they were dismissed from the Senate: Maxey Scherr, Wendy Weed, and Kathleen Mahoney. Also, Senators Danielle Archer and Kerri Zamer both resigned before the first Senate meeting in September.

–Senator and Chair of the Campus and Community Affairs Committee H. Todd Babbitt stated in a report that the CCA meeting on Monday was an “administrative” one, and the CCA discussed the research gathered so far, and agreed to join the University and College Ombudsman Association (UCOA) and to hire a paid consultant to help develop the position of ombudsperson further. No mention was made in the report of the support for Christopher Garner for ombudsperson that came up during the October 2nd meeting.

–Senator Laraway briefly discussed the Center for Academic Integrity Conference he attended at the University of Virginia, in Charlotte, VA, and displayed a plaque he received.

–Senator Maria Moreno, chair of the Students Events and Organizations Committee, said in her report that a meeting scheduled for October 2nd was cancelled due to sparse attendance. “I would like to express my personal thought on the lack of consideration and commitment of our Student Government. I believe if we are here we will like to make a difference in this University, if that is our mission I think there are many of us not meeting our responsibilities,” she wrote.

–A special election was held to fill vacancies in CPCS and CAS. Mr. Bell and Ms. White were both elected to the College of Policy and Community Service, and Mr. Hyppolite and Mr. Roach to the College of Arts and Sciences.

–Funding granted: A request for funding of $1718.00 was granted to the Biology Club for a trip to Nantucket to study “flora and fauna,” conduct interesting research experiments and participate in seminars with guest speakers and university faculty. The Women’s Center received $775 to cover a speaking fee and food. The Black Student Center received $5,550, also to cover speaking fees. Since the trip to Ground Zero in New York City was deemed “time-sensitive,” it was the only one out of six that was approved for funding for the Asian Center. The rest were sent back to committee. The Asian Center received $1500 for the bus trip.