Senate fields new Sexual Offense policy

Yet another senator has resigned from Senate as it gears up for elections.

First-year senator Sandor Winkler resigned during Sunday's meeting leaving his office of Education Coordinator vacant. Winkler said that his responsibilities as historian for La Alianza Latina were being neglected and he wished to return.

This resignation pushes Senate to start elections immediately. Senate bylaws call for immediate elections when more than three senators resign.

Ten seats will be available with 29 candidates on the ballot. The voting program that would allow students to vote via email, however, is still being worked on and is not ready for the elections. Paper ballots, which have been used in the past, induce very low voter turnout, and it will be a struggle for Senate to get the 600 ballots it needs before the self-determined goal of finals week.

Senate has moved quickly in other areas, however. Senior Deborah Gardner, a member of the Sexual Assault Support Team, came to Senate with a plea for action. "Student input is being overlooked," she said. Gardner has been working on a new version of the Sexual Offense Policy for the past two and a half years.

"Our current policy is not very survivor friendly," said Gardner. Her work, she says, has been flaunted by the administration. Citing various examples, she suggested that the administration has kept her revision of the policy from making any progress. She cited one example where she was asked to leave a general faculty meeting because she was not invited.

Gardner explained that her revision was simpler to follow than the current policy. It defines certain terms like consent that have been thus overlooked. It also defines all the options that a survivor of a sexual offense has, including the option to do nothing. The revision also explains confidentiality, which has been totally ignored in the current policy.

The revision by Gardner would also encourage education about sexual offenses. This is not currently incorporated in the policy.

Gardner mentioned that President Nancy Dye has proposed her own version of a revised policy. This policy, she says, is not sufficient. "[Dye] would like to get rid of the appeals process," said Gardner, on her main concerns about Dye's version.

Support for the new policy is strong among students, and student concern about the current policy is high. Gardner asked for support from Senate. Although they felt like they could not endorse the revision without further investigation, Senators agreed that they would send a letter to Dye. It would strongly advise her to take the revision into account and ask her to take into consideration the student input supporting the revision. Senate will be looking over a proposal that would endorse the policy at Sunday's open meeting.

Another guest to the open meeting, Allison Meyers, the Co-op Bookstore general manager, also came to Senate for support. The Co-op wants to create a student advisory committee. The committee would serve as a liaison between the students and the store. Its would help the Co-op better meet student needs. Meyers asked Senate for help in advertising the positions, to which senators readily agreed.

Senators are also working hard on their advisory councils, despite the impending end of the year. Advisory councils are set up and maintained by senators to deal with specific issues.

Currently first-year senator Kate Davoli and sophomore senator Russell Plato are working on mental health related issues. They hope to create a metal health resource handbook that would be available in various locations. The handbook would outline confidentiality concerns and different venues available for students who are seeking mental health care.