[888] in UA Senate
Re: Agenda for 42 UAS 5
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Paul Baranay)
Mon Nov 1 14:32:01 2010
In-Reply-To: <AANLkTi=jsY9UJuSERpEBtSV_qT_bs1frkzdYOptYvZwP@mail.gmail.com>
From: Paul Baranay <pbaranay@MIT.EDU>
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 2010 14:31:36 -0400
To: ua-senate-officers@mit.edu
Cc: ua-senate@mit.edu
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I'm curious what the justification for removing non-members of Senate durin=
g
the midterm reviews is, for two reasons.
First of all, there is the issue of transparency and openness. Doesn't the
student body at large have a right to know how well the UA's officers and
chairs are performing?
Secondly, my understanding of the bylaws is that a specific vote of the
Senate is required to remove non-members of Senate from the chamber [1]. I
would heartily encourage Senate to call for this vote, since transparency
and openness of Senate meetings are absolutely critical to the UA's
integrity. Certainly, it is the assembly's prerogative to occasionally
forsake this transparency in the interest of fostering more candid
discussion, but I deeply believe this is an issue that should be discussed
carefully, not simply declared by fiat.
- Paul
P.S. I dislike spamming the entire Senate list with the possibly
out-of-touch comments of a former student, but my earlier email to the
Senate Officers on this topic received no response.
[1] Specifically, Article IV, Section B, Paragraph 6 of the Senate Bylaws
states "Meetings shall be opened to the MIT community. The Speaker shall
have the power to exclude all save members of this Association at his
discretion, but he may be overruled by a majority vote of the Senate." (As
used in the context of the bylaws, Association means "undergraduates", not
"members of the UA Senate.") In order to limit who can be present in the
chamber, a motion to that effect must be made and passed with majority vote=
,
as provided for in RONR.
On Sat, Oct 30, 2010 at 10:48 PM, Jont=E9 Craighead (UA Speaker) <
ua-speaker@mit.edu> wrote:
> Hi, everyone:
>
> Please find below the agenda for 42 UAS 5. At Monday's meeting, we will
> have the opportunity to welcome Leah Flynn, the new Assistant Dean &
> Director for Student Leadership and Engagement Programs. Under her purvie=
w
> are SAO (the Student Activities Office) and many of the leadership progra=
ms
> and initiatives on campus.
>
> http://web.mit.edu/ua/senate/UAS42/agendas/2010-11-01.pdf
>
> Also on the agenda is the presentation of midterm reviews for officers an=
d
> committee chairs, which will take place in closed session. After a round =
of
> meetings this weekend, Vrajesh and Sammi will present performance ratings=
,
> and the floor will be open for questions. This closed session, as usual,
> will require that non-members of Senate exit the Chambers.
>
> As a final note, communication is key to our ability to function as a
> representative and legislative assembly. Please continue making an effort=
to
> inform your constituents about the issues we discuss in Senate and work o=
n
> developing a plan for your constituency fund event if you have not alread=
y.
> * If you have a date in mind for your event, please e-mail us by tomorrow
> evening *as I will begin posting a weekly e-mail with a list of
> constituencies, their Senators, and when their event will be held.
>
> If you have any questions or are running into problems, please feel free =
to
> send me an e-mail or drop by my office hours tomorrow evening from 8:00pm=
to
> 10:00pm.
>
> Thanks,
> Jont=E9 Craighead
>
> Speaker of the Senate
> MIT Undergraduate Association
> Course 1C: Class of 2013
>
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<div>I'm curious what the justification for removing non-members of Sen=
ate during the midterm reviews is, for two reasons.</div><div><br></div><di=
v>First of all, there is the issue of transparency and openness. =A0Doesn&#=
39;t the student body at large have a right to know how well the UA's o=
fficers and chairs are performing?</div>
<div><br></div><div>Secondly, my understanding of the bylaws is that a spec=
ific vote of the Senate is required to remove non-members of Senate from th=
e chamber [1]. =A0I would heartily encourage Senate to call for this vote, =
since transparency and openness of Senate meetings are absolutely critical =
to the UA's integrity. =A0Certainly, it is the assembly's prerogati=
ve to occasionally forsake this transparency in the interest of fostering m=
ore candid discussion, but I deeply believe this is an issue that should be=
discussed carefully, not simply declared by fiat.</div>
<div><br></div><div>- Paul</div><div><br></div><div>P.S. =A0I dislike spamm=
ing the entire Senate list with the possibly out-of-touch comments of a for=
mer student, but my earlier email to the Senate Officers on this topic rece=
ived no response.</div>
<div><br></div>[1] Specifically, Article IV, Section B, Paragraph 6 of the =
Senate Bylaws states "Meetings shall be opened to the MIT community. T=
he Speaker shall have the power to exclude all save members of this Associa=
tion at his discretion, but he may be overruled by a majority vote of the S=
enate." =A0(As used in the context of the bylaws, Association means &q=
uot;undergraduates", not "members of the UA Senate.") =A0In =
order to limit who can be present in the chamber, a motion to that effect m=
ust be made and passed with majority vote, as provided for in RONR.<br>
<div><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote">On Sat, Oct 30, 2010 at 10:48 PM, Jont=
=E9 Craighead (UA Speaker) <span dir=3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"mailto:ua-speak=
er@mit.edu">ua-speaker@mit.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class=
=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padd=
ing-left:1ex;">
Hi, everyone:<br><br>Please find below the agenda for 42 UAS 5. At Monday&#=
39;s meeting, we will have the opportunity to welcome Leah Flynn, the new A=
ssistant Dean & Director for Student Leadership and Engagement Programs=
. Under her purview are SAO (the Student Activities Office) and many of the=
leadership programs and initiatives on campus.<br>
<br><a href=3D"http://web.mit.edu/ua/senate/UAS42/agendas/2010-11-01.pdf" t=
arget=3D"_blank">http://web.mit.edu/ua/senate/UAS42/agendas/2010-11-01.pdf<=
/a><br><br>Also on the agenda is the presentation of midterm reviews for of=
ficers and committee chairs, which will take place in closed session. After=
a round of meetings this weekend, Vrajesh and Sammi will present performan=
ce ratings, and the floor will be open for questions. This closed session, =
as usual, will require that non-members of Senate exit the Chambers.<br>
<br>As a final note, communication is key to our ability to function as a r=
epresentative and legislative assembly. Please continue making an effort to=
inform your constituents about the issues we discuss in Senate and work on=
developing a plan for your constituency fund event if you have not already=
.<b> If you have a date in mind for your event, please e-mail us by tomorro=
w evening </b>as I will begin posting a weekly e-mail with a list of consti=
tuencies, their Senators, and when their event will be held.<br>
<br>If you have any questions or are running into problems, please feel fre=
e to send me an e-mail or drop by my office hours tomorrow evening from 8:0=
0pm to 10:00pm.<br><br clear=3D"all">Thanks,<br>Jont=E9 Craighead<br><br>Sp=
eaker of the Senate<br>
MIT Undergraduate Association<br>Course 1C: Class of 2013<br>
</blockquote></div><br></div>
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