[298] in UA Senate
41 UAS 6.2
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Paul Baranay)
Sun Nov 15 09:57:07 2009
From: Paul Baranay <pbaranay@MIT.EDU>
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2009 09:56:41 -0500
To: UA Senate <ua-senate@mit.edu>
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Hi Senate,
I wanted to call your attention to a bill I wrote in the past few days about
the Nominations Committee, of which I am currently Vice-Chair. I have a few
comments on the bill in general (at the beginning of the email) and two
thoughts on possible amendments (at the end of the email).
The bill, 6.2 (http://web.mit.edu/ua/senate/UAS41/6/2/.pdf), seeks to
establish a specific process for "ex officio" members of Institute
Committees -- that is, students not specifically chosen by the Nominations
Committee, but who gain access to a committee by virtue of a particular UA
position or office.
In general, one of my goals as NomComm Vice-Chair over the coming month or
two is to work on expanding the number of *ex officio* representatives on
Institute Committees. The work of UA committees often overlaps and
intersects with Institute Committees, and it would be helpful if some UA
committee members had formal access to Institute Committees. For example:
- UA Committee on Student Life Chair on Institute Committee on Student
Life
- UA SCEP Chair on academic committees, such as the Committee on
Curricula or the Committee on the Undergraduate Program
- UA Space Planning Chair on the Campus Activities Complex Advisory Board
- UA Athletics Chair on the DAPER Advisory Board
- etc.
Currently, UA committees tend to have an informal relationship with the
Institute Committees that are relevant to them -- for instance, NomComm
recently recommended SheeShee Jin (and one other student) for the Campus
Activities Complex Advisory Board due to her role as UA Space Planning
Chair; members of SCEP already serve on various academic committees; and the
Athletics Chair is part of the DAPER Advisory Board. However, in some sense
this ends up "taking away" a seat from the student body at large. It would
more ideal if the Space Planning Chair can serve on the CAC Advisory Board *as
well as* two other students, overall raising student representation on the
committee. This bill is a step on the road towards formalizing those sorts
of *ex officio *relationships. If this bill passes, I will feel more
confident going to the chairs of the Institute Committees and the Chair of
the Faculty to advocate for more student representation on Institute
Committees.
The overall process is virtually identical to the process used for the
"normal" undergraduate representatives selected in the spring, but instead
of the Nominations Committee initiating the process, it starts with the UA
member contacting the Nominations Committee on his/her own prerogative. As
usual, both NomComm *and* Senate have to approve this nomination for it to
become effective. Also, Senate would presumably set limits on how long such
approval lasts (i.e. for the 2009-2010 CSL Chair, for all future CSL chairs
until revoked, etc.) -- this is not explicitly mentioned in the bill,
because I didn't think it was necessary, but I can offer an amendment to
make this explicit.
I also plan on offering an amendment that adds, after the clause reading
"Any such ex officio representatives shall be held to the same standards of
communication as other
Institute Committee representatives," "Such ex officio representatives will
also be required to regularly communicate about the Institute Committee's
business to the Undergraduate Association body which they represent." I
meant to write this into the bill originally, but forgot; and it's well past
the legislation deadline, so I will simply bring this amendment up for
consideration during the meeting instead.
Sincerely,
Paul
(Disclaimer: This email is written entirely in the context of myself as
Vice-Chair of the Nominations Committee. As you can see in the agenda, I
intend to remove myself from the chair during this portion of the meeting,
so that I will be available to answer questions.)
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<div class=3D"gmail_quote">Hi Senate,<br><br>I wanted to call your attentio=
n to a bill I wrote in the past few days about the Nominations Committee, o=
f which I am currently Vice-Chair.=A0 I have a few comments on the bill in =
general (at the beginning of the email) and two thoughts on possible amendm=
ents (at the end of the email).<br>
<br>The bill, 6.2 (<a href=3D"http://web.mit.edu/ua/senate/UAS41/6/2/.pdf" =
target=3D"_blank">http://web.mit.edu/ua/senate/UAS41/6/2/.pdf</a>), seeks t=
o establish a specific process for "ex officio" members of Instit=
ute Committees -- that is, students not specifically chosen by the Nominati=
ons Committee, but who gain access to a committee by virtue of a particular=
UA position or office.<br>
<br>In general, one of my goals as NomComm Vice-Chair over the coming month=
or two is to work on expanding the number of <i>ex officio</i> representat=
ives on Institute Committees.=A0 The work of UA committees often overlaps a=
nd intersects with Institute Committees, and it would be helpful if some UA=
committee members had formal access to Institute Committees.=A0 For exampl=
e:<br>
<ul><li>UA Committee on Student Life Chair on Institute Committee on Studen=
t Life</li><li>UA SCEP Chair on academic committees, such as the Committee =
on Curricula or the Committee on the Undergraduate Program</li><li>UA Space=
Planning Chair on the Campus Activities Complex Advisory Board<br>
</li><li>UA Athletics Chair on the DAPER Advisory Board<br></li><li>etc.<br=
></li></ul>Currently, UA committees tend to have an informal relationship w=
ith the Institute Committees that are relevant to them -- for instance, Nom=
Comm recently recommended SheeShee Jin (and one other student) for the Camp=
us Activities Complex Advisory Board due to her role as UA Space Planning C=
hair; members of SCEP already serve on various academic committees; and the=
Athletics Chair is part of the DAPER Advisory Board.=A0 However, in some s=
ense this ends up "taking away" a seat from the student body at l=
arge.=A0 It would more ideal if the Space Planning Chair can serve on the C=
AC Advisory Board <i>as well as</i> two other students, overall raising stu=
dent representation on the committee.=A0 This bill is a step on the road to=
wards formalizing those sorts of <i>ex officio </i>relationships.=A0 If thi=
s bill passes, I will feel more confident going to the chairs of the Instit=
ute Committees and the Chair of the Faculty to advocate for more student re=
presentation on Institute Committees.<br>
<br>The overall process is virtually identical to the process used for the =
"normal" undergraduate representatives selected in the spring, bu=
t instead of the Nominations Committee initiating the process, it starts wi=
th the UA member contacting the Nominations Committee on his/her own prerog=
ative.=A0 As usual, both NomComm <i>and</i> Senate have to approve this nom=
ination for it to become effective.=A0 Also, Senate would presumably set li=
mits on how long such approval lasts (i.e. for the 2009-2010 CSL Chair, for=
all future CSL chairs until revoked, etc.) -- this is not explicitly menti=
oned in the bill, because I didn't think it was necessary, but I can of=
fer an amendment to make this explicit.<br>
<br>I also plan on offering an amendment that adds, after the clause readin=
g "Any such ex officio representatives shall be held to the same stand=
ards of communication as other<br>Institute Committee representatives,"=
; "Such ex officio representatives will also be required to regularly =
communicate about the Institute Committee's business to the Undergradua=
te Association body which they represent."=A0 I meant to write this in=
to the bill originally, but forgot; and it's well past the legislation =
deadline, so I will simply bring this amendment up for consideration during=
the meeting instead.<br>
<br>Sincerely,<br>Paul<br><font color=3D"#888888">
</font></div><br>(Disclaimer:=A0 This email is written entirely in the cont=
ext of myself
as Vice-Chair of the Nominations Committee.=A0 As you can see in the agenda=
, I intend to remove myself from the chair during this portion of the meeti=
ng, so that I will be available to answer questions.)<br>
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