2008 Woodie Awards
Students protest Senate meeting
David Abbott, News Editor
Issue date: 3/29/06 Section: News
Collegiality was the theme of the Mar. 23 Academic Senate meeting, when about 70 students protested in front of the Commons as the Senate gathered for a meeting to discuss shared governance and faculty consultation in matters concerning SSU budget priorities.
The protest began about 30 minutes before the Senate meeting so that as attending senate members and administrators arrived, they could hear chants of "When do we want the vote?" and the answering call of "Now!"
In Sep. 2005, the ASI put forth a resolution demanding a vote in the Senate and its subcommittees. Student representatives are allowed to sit on the Academic Senate and to give input in academic subcommittees, but they are currently not allowed to vote. Of the 23 CSU campuses, only SSU and Sacramento State prohibit student representatives from voting.
Several students had blue tape over their mouths, and most carried signs that read "Give us the vote," and "Phd does not spell God."
Inside the building, audible chanting continued as the meeting proceeded. Senate Chair-Elect Elaine McDonald atddressed the student suffrage issue at the beginning of the meeting.
"We totally value student input," she said. "But input and decision making are different things."
Faculty leadership insisted on the need for the issue to go through the proper channels before a full discussion could take place, since allowing a student vote would require not only a change in the Senate bylaws, but also in its constitution. In order for that to happen, a senator must make a motion for an amendment.
On the heels of the student suffrage item, the senate voted on a resolution put forth by Senator Rick Luttmann at the Feb. 23 senate meeting, regarding funding for the operation of the Green Music Center (GMC).
Many faculty members believe the GMC will be a drain on other academic programs, andt the resolution calls for an independent source of income in order to support operating costs for the building.
"In the context of the $620,000 for the GMC, we didn't approve it and were never asked for approval," Luttmann said as he introduced the second reading of the resolution. "The people who thought it was such a good idea should have to come up with the money."
The protest began about 30 minutes before the Senate meeting so that as attending senate members and administrators arrived, they could hear chants of "When do we want the vote?" and the answering call of "Now!"
In Sep. 2005, the ASI put forth a resolution demanding a vote in the Senate and its subcommittees. Student representatives are allowed to sit on the Academic Senate and to give input in academic subcommittees, but they are currently not allowed to vote. Of the 23 CSU campuses, only SSU and Sacramento State prohibit student representatives from voting.
Several students had blue tape over their mouths, and most carried signs that read "Give us the vote," and "Phd does not spell God."
Inside the building, audible chanting continued as the meeting proceeded. Senate Chair-Elect Elaine McDonald atddressed the student suffrage issue at the beginning of the meeting.
"We totally value student input," she said. "But input and decision making are different things."
Faculty leadership insisted on the need for the issue to go through the proper channels before a full discussion could take place, since allowing a student vote would require not only a change in the Senate bylaws, but also in its constitution. In order for that to happen, a senator must make a motion for an amendment.
On the heels of the student suffrage item, the senate voted on a resolution put forth by Senator Rick Luttmann at the Feb. 23 senate meeting, regarding funding for the operation of the Green Music Center (GMC).
Many faculty members believe the GMC will be a drain on other academic programs, andt the resolution calls for an independent source of income in order to support operating costs for the building.
"In the context of the $620,000 for the GMC, we didn't approve it and were never asked for approval," Luttmann said as he introduced the second reading of the resolution. "The people who thought it was such a good idea should have to come up with the money."