Two appointments to the ASUO Constitution Court Wednesday night could give the court enough justices to decide the remaining case on its docket – if justices were not going to recess for the summer on Monday.
Former Senate President Jonathan Rosenberg and Sen. Kevin Parks, who resigned his seat just before his confirmation hearing, were confirmed by the Senate after being appointed to the court by the ASUO Executive.
“The new appointments we just made probably won’t take effect until September,” ASUO Vice President Johnny Delashaw said Thursday. The Green Tape Notebook, which outlines the rules of student government, says the court’s summer recess begins the second Monday in June.
The remaining case on the docket challenges the validity of a meeting of the Senate over-realized committee that members said was not an official meeting.
The court directed the Senate to not make any decisions related to former Emerald Editor-in-Chief Laura Powers’ grievance challenging the meeting. Court rules say justices must rule on such an injunction within four days.
While both of the new associate justices have backgrounds in the legislative branch of student government, they come from different political camps.
Rosenberg endorsed Sara Hamilton and Athan Papailiou’s reform-minded ticket in the 2007 general election after he was eliminated in the primary.
Parks, while elected independent of a slate, became an ally of former ASUO President Emily McLain after she defeated Hamilton.
Delashaw called Rosenberg a moderate who will be an excellent contributor to the court. Delashaw also said Rosenberg and Parks will better understand the impacts of the court’s decisions as a result of their previous involvement in the ASUO.
ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz said he was in favor of Parks being on the court because Parks was “meticulous” in all of his decisions while on the Senate and would be capable of putting aside personal politics.
In other business Wednesday, the Senate again passed an amendment to the ASUO’s contract with the athletic department to implement electronic ticket distribution to football and men’s basketball games beginning in August.
Sen. Alex McCafferty read an e-mail from Assistant Athletic Director Garrett Klassy in which Klassy objected to a provision added to the contract last week requiring disclosure of the added traffic to GoDucks.com.
In the e-mail, Klassy also objected to language guaranteeing the department would not receive more incidental fee funds from the ASUO in the “indefinite” future. The contract is renewed annually.
Senators eventually struck all of the contested language and again passed the electronic ticketing amendment.
A Senate resolution supporting the creation of an ASUO site on Blackboard was again sent to the Senate rules committee. The resolution would urge the University’s Blackboard Advisory Committee to allow the ASUO to be considered a course without a CRN.
The intent of the resolution is to create discussion forums and polls about campus issues for all students.
Sen. Carina Miller was elected Summer Senate chairwoman and Sen. Nick Schultz was elected Summer Senate vice chairman. Senators agreed both candidates would be considered for chair and the runner-up would be vice chair.
Six senators voted for Miller and three voted for Schultz. Five senators abstained from the vote.
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