ASNAU SENATE MEETING #22
TWENTY-SIXTH SESSION
OFFICIAL MINUTES
Date: April 4, 2014 Number on council: 12
Date of Senate Meeting: April 3, 2014 Number present: 10
Prepared by Amy Edgerton
Senate Chairwoman Shayla Woodhouse called the Senate meeting of the 2013-2014 Associated Students of Northern Arizona University Senate to order at 5:05 P.M. in the Havasupai Room A & B of the University Union.
Roll Call
The following Senators were not present at the meeting:
- Alexandria Buchta, Brittany Simon
Approval of Minutes
Motion: Senator Howard move to approve the minutes from last week’s Senate meeting
Second: Senator Soto
Discussion: None
Vote: Unanimous, last week’s minutes have now been approved.
Call to the Audience
Unfinished Business
New Action Business
Motion: Senator Ortega move to vote on Item A: Amend Approved SB 26-61 and SB 26-88
Second: Senator Lulay
Discussion: Chairwoman Woodhouse explains that these two Senate Bills need to be amended for ASNAU reasons, and that the amounts remain the same. SB 26-61 for Delta Chi needs to include that the event was extended to March 2nd, because gas receipts include this. SB 26-88 for the Capstone Group needs to specify who will be reimbursed. The representatives are not present today because the issues were created by ASNAU, not the clubs.
Vote: Unanimous, Item A: Amend Approved SB 26-61 and SB 26-88 have been approved.
Motion: Senator Libby move to vote on Item B: OA: Vintage Christian Fellowship, $500
Second: Senator Gorshe
Discussion: Josh, the President of Vintage Christian Fellowship is requesting money for an event titled ‘Create’ it well be held at a coffee shop, and there will be live performances, paintings, and other art to bring together different denominations. They are asking for vending fee, transportation for the band, and for miscellaneous items such as disposable command hooks. Senator Gorshe asks what specifically. They will be purchasing command hooks and art furnishings. The hooks will be to hang the art without damaging the property.
Vote: Unanimous, Item B: OA: Vintage Christian Fellowship, $500 has been approved.
Motion: Senator Ortega move to vote on Item C: SB 26-95: Ten Students Travelling to Istanbul and Bulgaria, $3500
Second: Senator Startt
Discussion: This summer, NAU Shrine of the Ages Choir will be attending a 12-day choral tour in Istanbul and Bulgaria. It is $3490 per student, and there are 10 who are having trouble covering this cost. They are requesting $350 for each student, and have received money from Choral Studies to contribute to the trip. Chairwoman Woodhouse asks if each student is fronting the money, yes they have each already paid.
Vote: Unanimous, Item C: SB 26-95: Ten Students Travelling to Istanbul and Bulgaria, $3500 has been approved
Motion: Senator Ortega move to vote on Item D: SB 26-96: NAU Women’s Lacrosse, $762.50
Second: Senator Soto
Motion: Senator Gorshe move to amend Item D: SB 26-96: NAU Women’s Lacrosse, $762.50 to read ‘NAU Women’s Lacrosse lodging fees’ at the top and bottom of the bill.
Second: Senator Cabral
Vote: Unanimous, Item D: SB 26-96: NAU Women’s Lacrosse, $762.50 has been amended
Discussion: Libby is the president; they are requesting reimbursement for a trip to Santa Barbara. They already attended and played 5 games. The money will go toward hotel cost, and they are only requesting $750 out of the total $1950 it cost. Senator Soto asked how they did, and the president replies that they did well. Senator Tillinghast asks what the actually number is, and Senator Gorshe says $762.50 is correct. Bill must be amended to reflect the correct name.
Vote: Unanimous, Item D: SB 26-96: NAU Women’s Lacrosse, $762.50 has been approved
Motion: Senator Howard move to vote on Item E: SB 26-97: Gamma Phi Beta, $2589.10
Second: Senator Gorshe
Discussion: Senator Libby explains that they are holding a philanthropy event this Friday along with Alpha Phi Sorority, and the money will go toward the hotel venue fee for Little America and transportation; they are using NAU busses. Senator Lulay asks what the event is, and she replies that it is a Spring Fling dance. The money raised will go towards Women’s Heart and Brain Health.
Vote: Unanimous, Item E: SB 26-97: Gamma Phi Beta, $2589.10 has been approved
Motion: Senator Gorshe move to vote on Item F: SB 26-98: NAU Trijacks, $3500
Second: Senator Howard
Motion: Senator Libby move to table Item F: SB 26-98: NAU Trijacks, $3500
Second: Senator Soto
Discussion: None
Vote: Unanimous, Item F: SB 26-98: NAU Trijacks, $3500 has been tabled
Motion: Senator Howard move to vote on Item G: SB 26-99: NAU Club Sports Council, $2900
Second: Senator Ortega
Discussion: They are asking for funding for the Club Sports Banquet. This will honor each sport and give out awards to MVP, Best Team, and more. The money will be for catering food from NAU. The food cost is $4558, and they have already received some other funding from STAC and NAU Campus Recreation. Senator Gorshe clarifies that money can be used for catering, and representative replies yes, because it is coming from Sodexo. Senator Lulay asks why they are not requesting the full $3500, because they have already received other funding elsewhere. Chairwoman Woodhouse says the bill needs to say Club Sports Council, and the Senate replies that it does it was just reflected wrong on the agenda.
Vote: Unanimous, Item G: SB 26-99: NAU Club Sports Council, $2900 has been approved
Motion: Senator Howard move to change Item H: Resolution 26-7: Tobacco Policy to Item H: Referendum 26-1: Tobacco Policy
Second: Senator Cook
Discussion: Senator Cabral explains that a few Senators would rather have a referendum rather than a resolution so he will be striking the resolution and adding the referendum. Senator Gorshe says it was always supposed to be a referendum.
Vote: Unanimous, Item H: Referendum 26-1: Tobacco Policy has been amended
Motion: Senator Cabral move to vote on Item H: Referendum 26-1: Tobacco Policy
Second: Senator Ortega
Discussion: Daniel is the president of SHAC, and they are asking for a referendum on the policy. As of last night, they are at 2,738 petition signatures and they have been working on the policy for a year and a half. Senator Howard asks if graduate students count, and Senator Cabral says if it was an Initiative they would not count, but in this case they do. Senator Lulay asks why they have not tried to compromise instead of trying to go completely tobacco free. Daniel explains that smoke zones are not effective as per their research from other campuses and they feel that it is necessary to go completely tobacco free. Senator Lulay asks if this includes chew, yes and also E-Cigarettes. Senator Gorshe says that they have voted on the policy, and the Senate does not support, but the referendum will allow the students to vote on this with a 2/3 Senate Vote. Senator Howard says that an Initiative with 2800 students looks more important than 8 senators. Senator Soto asks when the vote will take place, and the Senate replies that it will not be for a couple weeks. Colleen asks if there is any reason not to let the students vote, and Senator Tillinghast says that there is no guarantee that very many people will vote on this issue. He worries that there would be a bias because his assumption is that the people that will vote on this will be SHAC and friends of SHAC. They are the people that know about this. Senator Startt says that people that are tobacco users are against this policy will voice their opinion on this. Senator Tillinghast doesn’t think this will happen, there is no advertisement and the people will not be accurately represented. Senator Howard says that SHAC is an organized group whereas the other side doesn’t really have one. Senator Startt says that every student has a chance to vote, and SHAC itself only has about 20 members. Senator Cook wonders if there is any way that there could be limit on the vote that says a certain number of people have to, and Senator Gorshe says that with something like this it is not possible, it would have to be simple majority. Senator Libby suggests that it may be pushed back for the purpose of advertising, and Chief of Staff Smart says that it follows the Election Code so three weeks will be allowed for this. She adds that the Constitution vote from a few weeks ago went out very quickly, and had one of the lowest amounts of voters in history. That education period is crucially important. The elections committee and others can decide whether this is a special election, and then the special timeline wouldn’t apply, but she thinks that this education period is important. Senator Howard says that a lot of people have term papers and end of the year obligations and they do not have time to educate themselves, he thinks with the initiative there are at least 3000 people that already know. Chyna asks again why the Senate is hesitant on this, and Senator Lulay explains that they are concerned that the vote does not have adequate representation on certain sides of this argument. Chyna asks what his recommendation would be then. Senator Lulay says that his recommendation is that we put a cap on minimum voting for things like this, but he doesn’t feel that there is enough time. Chyna says that if this vote goes to the students and Senate feels that the votes are skewed, the Senate may or may not react. Senator Lulay says that there is nothing they can do. Chief of Staff Smart adds that once the vote is done, the policy goes to President Haeger for final approval. Audience member adds that there is still over a year of implementation to be completed even after the initiative is approved. It is not an immediate change. Senator Libby adds that SHAC will also have advertising and have more votes to back themselves up. Senator Ortega says she agrees, and says that SHAC has already been tabling and getting input of other students with education of the policy. Colleen says that she hasn’t signed the petition but she would vote and also bring it to her sorority. She says they can get the word out. Senator Tillinghast says they can’t tell the students to vote, and Chairwoman Woodhouse says that they can the senators just cannot express their opinion on the matter. Senator Howard says that SHAC may be educating people about the policy, but not about the vote. He wonders about the other 2,000 or more people that have not signed the petition and are not represented. Senator Ortega says that it is put out there for people to form an opinion and vote if they so desire. Senator Tillinghast suggests that Daniel comes back next week, the 3,000-signature petition, create an initiative, and then it goes to the students anyways. It shouldn’t be any different. Senator Gorshe agrees with everything that has been said, he will vote yes and his reasoning is that the referendum idea is in the governing documents, and even though there may be low voter turnout, it is their obligation to allow the students a vote on this. He reminds everyone that it is not the Senate’s position to get people to vote. Chyna says education should start now, and bringing this to the president should happen with Haeger who already has this on his radar, whereas a new president who has a lot of other things to deal with may not. Senator Gorshe says that everyone needs to remember that the Senate is not voting on the policy, they are voting to allow the students to vote. The Election Code says they are obligated to give two weeks. They will not be educating people about bad tobacco, they will be educating about the vote. Everyone can work together to ensure voter turnout. Senator Howard asks the SHAC representative if they just took signatures on the petition, or if it included email addresses. Daniel says that they took either ID numbers or date of birth.
Senator Howard requests that the Senate vote via secret ballot. Senator Cabral says that they need names on the vote because of proxy, and Chief of Staff Smart says that the senators that received a proxy can just put two yesses or nos.
Senator Lulay asks why, Senator Howard says this is controversial and it will be more comfortable for some to vote in secret. Senator Lulay replies the vote is not on the controversial issue but rather to allow the students to vote on this.
Point of Order: Senator Gorshe says that the secret ballot has already been requested and must be done regardless
In attempts to complete the vote via secret ballot, Chairwoman Woodhouse receives 13 votes on multiple attempts. For clarification purposes, the Senate must do a normal vote with hands raised.
Vote: 7 in favor, 5 in opposition, Senator Simon and Buchta are represented by proxy vote Item H: Referendum 26-1: Tobacco Policy does not pass
Motion: Senator Cabral move to reconsider Item H: Referendum 26-1: Tobacco Policy due to controversy about the validity of proxy vote
Second: Senator Startt
Discussion: Because Roberts Rules of Order does not specify rules about a proxy and it is not in the governing documents, the proxy votes should not be counted. Senator Howard says with this guideline, all other votes with proxies should be reconsidered. VP Cooper says that this is different because it will affect the whole student body greatly. Senator Cabral says that what has been done in the past cannot be changed, but these things will just have to be remembered for the future. Senator Lulay agrees. Annsley asks if the voting requires 2/3 of present or total, and Senator Gorshe says that it is 2/3 of present. Senator Howard feels that if they are not allowed to proxy, they should be present, so the vote should be delayed. Senator Startt points out a time constraint with the end of the year approaching. Senator Lulay says that it is good that this issue has been discovered, and the Senate should wait for Senator Simon and Senator Buchta to complete this vote. Senator Startt says that there are always going to be times where some senators may not be present, and Senator Howard retorts that it is important for each senator to be here as a part of the job. Chief of Staff Smart adds that there is no meeting next week. Dr. Brandel says that for some education time to be allowed, it is important for the vote to be done soon. Senator Tillinghast suggests a special session. Dr. Brandel suggests that the signatures be taken to President Mastrud and it be taken to a student body vote anyways. SHAC needs 2446 signatures for President Mastrud to send the initiative to the students and they currently have 2378. This number would have to be less graduate students in this case.