Wednesday, January 28, 1998
The University Daily Kansan
Section A·Page 9
Senate members lacking in attendance at meetings
New policy would punish absences at board meetings
By Melissa Ngo
mngo@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
University of Kansas students are not showing up to University committee and board meetings, and Pat Mazumdar wants to change that.
Mazumdar, graduate senator,
will introduce legislation in Student Senate committees tonight that would change punishment procedures when student members fail to attend committee and board meetings. Mazumdar is sponsoring the same bill in Senate.
University committees and boards, such as the Academic Policy and Procedures Committee and the Parking Board, consist of faculty, staff and students.
Any student can apply for a seat on a committee or board, but many don't show up once they get the appointment. Mazmund said.
"The No. 1 complaint that the committee chairs have is poor student attendance," Mazumdar said. "Right now, it's very easy to miss and not be punished. The committee chairs have no mechanism to complain."
As the rules stand, there are two ways to remove a student from a committee: a two-thirds vote of Student Senate, or the recommendation of the student body president or the chair of the Student Senate Executive Committee with the approval of Senate.
Mazumdar said he didn't see the difference between excused and unexcused absences.
"If you're not there, you've missed the meeting," he said. "If you've got a good excuse, tell it to StudEx."
The bill would allow committee chairpersons to report members who had missed more than two meetings to the StudEx chair. The member immediately would be suspended from the committee.
At the next StudEx meeting, the member would have to explain why the committee meetings were missed.
If the answers are not satisfactory, then the member is removed from the committee and the student body president could appoint a replacement that day.
Robert Hohn, chairman of the Academic Policies and Procedures Committee, said good attendance from the student members was not a problem.
"Our student attendance has been really good, and they give good input," Hohn said. "We have an advantage because the things we discuss, such as grades and
SENATE REGULATIONS
Student members who do not serve as ex-officio members may be removed upon a two-thirds vote of the Student Senate, present and voting, or upon the recommendation of the President of the Student Body or the Chairperson of the Student Executive Committee with the approval of a majority of the Senate, present and voting, provided notice that a vote is to be taken is given in the agenda of the meeting.
graduation requirements, are things students feel they have a stake in."
But Anita Herzfeld, chairwoman of the International Affairs Committee, said none of her committee's student members had attended the committee's three meetings. The four students make up half the committee.
"I think it's very detrimental to our work because we don't know what the student perspective is on the issues we're discussing," Herzfeld said.
She said that this year's lack of student attendance surprised her because she had great attendance and input in past years.
"In the past we've chosen a student representative to co-chair the committee," she said. "We haven't been able to do that this year because none of them have shown up."
Waterslide plan makes waves
Senators to debate proposal for campus recreation complex
By Marc Sheforgen msheforgen@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
John Colbert, engineering senator, and Sam Pierrom, Liberal Arts and Sciences senator, hope to give students the chance to cool down and improve their suntans at a West Campus waterside complex.
Spring is on the way, and two student senators think that University of Kansas students deserve a chance to enjoy fun in the sun on campus.
According to Colbert and Pierron's legislation, KU students ranked 118th nationally in the tanning category of the *Princeton*
Colbert and Pierron will slide into tonight's Finance and University Affairs committee meetings to propose a bill to fund the complex with a $7 per semester fee to be paid by all students enrolled in six or more credit hours.
Review, below nine of the Big 12 schools. Colbert said a waterslide complex could be something that would brighten the University's status and break away from the norm.
"Let's go 'em all one better," Colbert said. "Why always just keep up with the Joneses?"
Colbert said the complex also would be open to non-students and would generate enough revenue to allow other features to be added in the future.
"Over the years, we could expand. Maybe we could get a wave pool," he said.
Aaron Justus, Prairie Village senior, said that a waterside complex would be nice, but that it was not practical.
"Nothing like that would ever happen because of the liability, but it would be fun," he said.
"The voters showed they wanted it by electing me, so they can't completely dismiss it," he said. "If they vote against it, they aren't doing their job."
In last year's Senate elections, Colbert's campaign included a promise of a waterside complex, and he said that student support was high. He said that he was apprehensive about how committee members would view the bill, but it was their job to vote to pass it
WATER WORKS
The proposed waterslide would be located on West Campus
■ The bill would increase the student activity fee $7 for students enrolled in six or more hours
The bill will be brought in front of Student Senate Finance and University Affairs committees tonight
Scott Sullivan, student body president, said he would be surprised if the bill was passed by the finance committee.
Jordan Edwards, finance committee chairman, said he realized the waterside complex was one of Colbert's campaign promises but said that the committee probably would look at the bill with a critical eve.
Edwards said that he had never seen a request like this.
"In my opinion, a West Campus waterslide probably isn't the most pressing need," he said.
"It's unique," he said.
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