The Georgetown University Student Association passed a bill last night that created five new student commissions, each designed to address a particular issue. The newly formed commissions will deal with technology, student dining concerns, code of conduct reform, class registration, and Georgetown identity, and are designed to allow students who are not in GUSA to work on issues that concern them.
GUSA President Pat Dowd (SFS `09) vetoed the original bill, which was passed by the Senate last week and included seven commissions. Specifically, Dowd had concerns about the proposed commission on security and safety, and the contested commission was ultimately removed from the bill that passed Wednesday night.
“The Commission on Security and Safety Concerns is redundant,” Dowd said. “The bill wasn’t well researched enough, and people didn’t put enough time into it. If the purpose of the commission was to have interaction between students and administrators or to just be a working group, we already have those with the Student Safety Advisory Board.”
GUSA senator Tyler Stone (COL `09), who had hoped to work on the Security and Safety Commission, plans to talk with the SSAB and the Department of Public Safety before considering whether to try to create the commission again.
“It’s up in the air whether or not there will be a Security and Safety Commission at this point,” Stone said. “The process is open-ended, and that’s fine.”
The proposal for the Student Commission on Unity was also removed from the bill due to controversy surrounding the proposed chair of the commission. The GUSA Senate amended its bylaws last week so that non-senators could be allowed to chair a commission if the individual bill for that commission allows it. So far, SCUnity has been the only commission for which senators have attempted to appoint a non-senator, Brian Kesten (COL `10), to serve as its chair.
“Unity was a great success last year, and a great model,” Dowd said. “The bylaws were changed because Brian Kesten was the chair of Unity last year and wasn’t elected as Senator this year. He wants and deserves to continue working on this issue.”
The issue was debated at Wednesday’s meeting, with GUSA’s secretary of diversity affairs Antwaun Sargent (SFS `11) speaking out at the meeting against allowing non-GUSA members to chair commissions.
“GUSA’s already shot in the foot with diversity, and I don’t want someone who’s not elected by a constituency to chair a commission,” Sargent said. “If you open the door, where does it stop, and how much real control can you have over a commission?”
Senator Johnny Solis (SFS `11) opposed Sargent and moved to push further consideration of the bylaw changes to next week.
“I think it would be wrong to debate this without Brian in the room,” Solis said. “I think it would be wrong to put him on trial with him not here.”
The senate ultimately voted to move the issue of the Unity Commission and non-senator chairs to next week.
The bill creating five commissions passed with no opposition, and four abstentions.
“The commissions have the potential to work out well, and little changes are possible,” Kesten said.
“What’s more likely though is that some commissions will have success and warrant keeping for the future, and some will just wind up dressing up someone’s resume.”
