USG passes treasury amendment

By Jessica Wettig

 

Undergraduate Student Government wrapped up the semester Tuesday night with a new amendment and four new committee chair candidates.

After two months of debate, USG passed an amendment to implement a Department of Treasury in place of its present Finance Committee. The group also swore in its new president and senators, and it produced a game plan for its new executive affairs committee, internal affairs committee and treasurer candidates.

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The treasury amendment passed with only two members opposing. The main concern senators thought should be changed deals with the president having too much power. Senator Rineys Moore, a freshman from Belleville studying political science, said he was concerned the president, not the senators, would appoint the treasurer.

Senator and President Elect Adrian Miller, a sophomore from Carbondale studying political science, said there is already an impeachment portion of the constitution if the senate feels its necessary to remove a chairperson.

The senate does not need to worry about any president or chairperson having too much power, said Oliver Keys Jr., a junior from East St. Louis, studying automotive technology and USG senator.

“Power is not really the big point,” he said. “The treasurer will have responsibility over any power. That’s why it’s a committee — it’s checks and balances.”

Senator Cameron Shulak, a freshman from Louisville, Ky., studying aviation flight management, said past problems occurred where people didn’t know who to go to about financial issues because no one directly held the responsibility.

The treasury department’s members will also be nominated and approved by the senate by a two-thirds vote, Shulak said.

The amendment outlines the department’s duties and responsibilities. It states that the seven members are responsible for making allocations to Registered Student Organizations and abiding by student funding guidelines. The last section states that the department maintains and makes any modifications to those guidelines.

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Shulak said all changes had been made based on the previous senators’ concerns.

Beyond finalizing the amendments, USG swore in a new president and senators and began to prepare for the 2013-2014 school year.

President Brittany Greathouse swore Miller along with two new senators — Shane Kenealy, from Eastside Campus Housing and Richard Master, from the College of Applied Sciences — whose positions will start in the beginning of the fall semester.

Miller said his administration will first begin by working with the Graduate Professional Student Council to amend election commission rules and make elections run more fairly and smoothly. The previous student trustee election was problematic because the rules were unclear, and there was much debate on the correct actions to take concerning whether to keep student trustee Jesse Cler on the ballot.

“We must have a standard that truly allows every student a fair shot at determining their candidate,” Miller said.

Miller announced Keys as his vice president during the meeting. Candidates for the executive affairs committee chair included Senators Desmon Walker and Tracy Shorter. Senator Sarah Hollis and Senator Christopher Wheetley are the candidates for the internal affairs committee chair candidates.

USG also decided to implement chair pro tempores for all unfilled postions to maintain proper procedures. Vice President Corbin Doss said the proper procedure is to elect the candidates in one meeting and give them until the following meeting to prepare speeches and pass a vote.

The candidates will act as pro tempore co-chairs until the first meeting of the fall semester, so that work can be accomplished throughout the summer. Shulak was nominated as treasurer pro tempore.

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