The Graduate and Professional Student Council had to table major items on its agenda Tuesday evening because too few members were present to vote.

Changes to GPSC bylaws and a resolution regarding a potential new university absence policy were delayed for the council’s next meeting. The 10 members in attendance instead discussed a campus-wide survey created by the Diversity Council and plans to move forward with an investigation of the Undergraduate Student Government’s executive board.

In October, registered student organization leaders submitted a petition of 522 student signatures and asked GPSC to review allegations of misconduct on part of the executive board. The objections with current USG leadership ranged from procedural errors to violations of the governing body’s constitution.

The council voted at that time to form a committee to conduct hearings for investigating the allegations. Committee co-chair Clay Awsumb said after holding informational sessions last week, the committee will soon be scheduling its first hearings for the charges against USG.

The results of the survey, which was circulated by the Diversity Council through Feb. 3, showed that opinions of student leadership were low. No survey question received an “agree” or “strongly agree” response from more than 55 percent of those surveyed.

Of the responses, only 24 percent (of the responses) came from graduate and professional students. GPSC vice president for student affairs Johnathan Flowers noted that no distinction was made between GPSC and the Undergraduate Student Government leadership.

“Still, the rather dismal responses indicate a problem that needs to be addressed,” he said before asking council members to send any suggestions to the GPSC email.

Also discussed was a collaborative effort between USG and GPSC to plan a “legislative road trip” to local state lawmakers in their home districts.

Vice president for administrative affairs Willie Lyles III said students already visited with Rep. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, to discuss the importance of higher education. Lyles said the rest of the road trip is still in the works, but a final plan will be presented at the council’s next regular meeting on March 7.

Staff writer Marnie Leonard can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @marsuzleo.

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