Correction appended.
Members of Ohio University Student Senate’s judicial panel will become the only senators paid for their work if a resolution to compensate the panel passes at Wednesday night’s meeting.
Last spring, students who voted in the senate election chose to replace senate’s Board of Elections with a new rule interpreting body: the judicial panel. The Board of Elections was compensated.
“Since the judicial panel is the Board of Elections this year, we’re going to see whether or not the body thinks that they should be paid,” Haley Klier, vice commissioner for SAC, said. “I think that they should be treated like the rest of senate and the rest of senate does not get compensated.”
Senate will also hear a resolution Wednesday to set a time for adjournment of general body meetings due in part to “debate over certain bills and/or resolutions” that have “a tendency to become unnecessarily repetitive,” according to the resolution.
“I'm not a fan of this because it will cause us to rush and potentially not have good discussion on important topics,” Landen Lama, senate’s chief of staff, said in an email. “Our agenda keeps growing and great/meaningful conversations are happening. I would like to see this continue to happen more and more especially since substantial conversations have been happening.”
Debate on a bill in support of dropping charges filed against 70 students arrested in Baker Center earlier this month caused senate’s Feb. 8 meeting to last more than three hours.
Other resolutions slated for Wednesday’s meeting include budgets for Pride Week supplies, Bobcat Bash, Bobcat “Meet and Greet” events and a resolution to appoint Amal Afyouni as an international affairs commissioner.
Afyouni is currently the international affairs vice commissioner. If chosen by the body to become commissioner, Afyouni will continue work on projects that aim to connect domestic and international students, like the Say Hello Campaign that will take place during International Week, she said.
“We’re putting a couple people at the top of Baker, different international students, to teach people how to say ‘hello’ in different languages,” Afyouni said.
Additionally, senate will hear a bill calling for greater transparency from the OU Board of Trustees.
Lama said he supports the bill and the resignation of now-former Trustee Kevin Lake who was found guilty of evading more than $3.5 million in taxes. Lake pleaded guilty to drug, tax and fraud charges and to prescribing illegal prescriptions to hundreds of patients each day. He stepped down from the board Jan. 21.
“I think it's super important that we as the Student Senate call individuals and groups out on campus when we don't believe that they're doing their job or upholding the values of Ohio University,” Lama said.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified Haley Klier's Student Senate position. The article has been updated with the most accurate information.
