Senator elections still hot

Elections continue while senators appoint committee members

Election controversy took the foreground at the Senate meeting this Sunday. Their recent disagreements surrounding the campaign process, namely over former senator sophomore Chris Anton gaining unauthorized access to the senate e-mail account.

Senate also discussed issues regarding chartering and hiring student representatives for various committees.

The senators who were present were divided over whether Anton or senator Erika Hansen, who neglected to change the e-mail password from last year, was to blame for this incident. As of now, the senators agreed that no punitive action should be taken against either party, but that in the future some form of election protocol should be established.

The election process will continue until the committee has received approximately 600 ballots. Currently 200 ballots are still needed to fulfill this requirement. Hansen stated that once the computer based voting program is up and running the election process will run a lot more smoothly.

Dean of Students Peter Goldsmith, who was present at the meeting, discussed the ongoing process of gaining student autonomy for chartering. The issue will come up for approval at the General Faculty meeting in October. Senate is working on a compromise with senior Sarah Feinberg, who co-authored the proposal.

Goldsmith also plans to appoint student representatives to various committees. He wishes to create a permanent position in Residential Life for the director of the search committee. Goldsmith is seeking two students for this committee. Ideally, one of the candidates should be an intern in the Dean's Office and the other student should have previous experience working with Residential Life.

A proposal was also made for an ad-hoc committee that would look into alcohol and other drugs. Its focus would be on health policies and procedures, and compliance with the drug free act. Special attention would be paid to dealing with alcohol and drug-related issues in a fair and consistent manner.

Senior senator Jane Glynn, who is in charge of hiring for committees, is currently conducting interviews and is seeking recommendations of potential students to fill these positions.