Restructure of ASUSUEC must now be approved by students
After weeks of discussion and debate, the Associated Students of Utah State University Executive Council passed a bill restructuring the ASUSU offices. The bills passing did not come easily, however. Kiersten Hewitt, student body president of the Brigham City Extension of USU, came to the meeting to voice her concerns that the restructuring eliminates the Extension Vice President from having a vote on the Executive Council. Hewitt explained that there are more than 14,000 Extension students statewide who need a stronger voice. Hewitt also pointed out there is a graduate senate president, with voting power, who is over a smaller group of students. “Where is our representation?” Hewitt asked. “You can be represented if you work the system right,” Joe Barnard ASUSU administrative assistant said. However, the purpose of the restructuring bill is to simplify the council by grouping up similar offices, ASUSU President Les Essig said. The bill includes an Extension chair who would be under the Student Advocate vice president who does have a vote on the council. Hewitt said she feels that Extension students deserve an Extension student on the Executive Council, with voting power, that truly understand their unique needs. The communication between Extension students, senators and the Extension vice president needs improvement as well, Hewitt said. Hewitt also suggested taking advantage of the Extension satellite system to better include an Extension officer in ASUSU meetings. An amendment was then proposed by Executive Vice President Tagg Archibald and Extension Vice President Brett Thomas to create an Extension senator to be a voting member in the newly created Academic Senate. The amendment failed. “It’s not a perfect model,” Brandon Hallford, HASS senator, said. “But we all have to make sacrifices to try it out. Extension will have as much of a say under the Student Advocate as they will in Academic Senate.” “You’ll never make everyone happy,” Essig said. Due to the newly created offices, students who have already signed up to run for an ASUSU office should re-sign up for a new office, Chris Silva, ASUSU Greek intern, said. Campus Judicial Officer Dallin Phillips also spoke to the council about the need for changes in the honor code. In 2002, when the honor code was combined with the student code, an important process was eliminated. “The code allows me as a professor to flunk you if I think you are cheating without even finding out the facts,” Phillips said. Phillips said he feels students should first be confronted and then allowed a hearing when suspected of cheating and encouraged the Executive Council to look at and rewrite the code. The council also failed a bill encouraging faculty members to turn off half of the light banks in their classrooms one day each month to save money. Essig said he feels the bill will not only save money, but call attention to the need to save fuel and power. Council members Kathy Leslie and Heidi Evans worried that such action would stifle learning in the classroom. Arts and Lectures Vice President Brittany Duke said she feels ASUSU would need specific support from the university president in order for the idea to be successful. Jason Pickup, engineering senator, said the proposal would only save $2,000 a year which would roughly be 1/20,000 of the fuel and power debt. “Although I agree with the idea, we’re naive if we think we’ll make a dent,” Pickup said.-hilaryi@cc.usu.edu