The student government president said Friday he will not sign a proposed resolution against the Iranian government’s nuclear program and he doesn’t think the ASUO Student Senate, as a body, should sign it.
Student government bylaws currently prohibit the Senate from adopting the resolution, but senators are looking to change those rules.
The three-page document outlines recent threats by the Iranian government against the U.S. and other countries, calling for U.S. representatives and other national leaders to put diplomatic pressure on Iranian leaders interested in furthering the country’s nuclear program.
ASUO President Adam Walsh said there are more important and relevant issues than international politics for the Senate to act on.
Walsh said that if he wasn’t a member of student government and “picked up the paper and read that the Student Senate passed this resolution, I would wonder who these senators thought they were.
“And I guess, then, when they did take on other things, and even if they were winnable things, I would have a lot less faith,” he said.
Walsh said senators should feel free to sign the petition individually, but “should be wary of compromising the integrity of the body as a whole by weighing in on issues outside the explicit purview and purpose of the Student Senate.”
Senate Ombudsman Jared Axelrod, who sponsored the resolution, said that if there’s an issue that students feel adamantly about, it should be addressed by the Senate.
“It doesn’t have to do with the incidental fee, but it affects a lot of students,” Axelrod said. “The Student Senate as a whole speaks for the students and (this) is something that the Student Senate should be dealing with.” The resolution states that several countries, including the U.S., Germany, France, United Kingdom, Egypt and Israel, have expressed concern over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“International intelligence agencies, especially those of the state of Israel, estimate that Iran could pass the ‘point of no return,’ or the point at which their nuclear ambitions cannot be stopped, by March of 2006,” the resolution states. Further, it states that the U.S. estimated Iran could have a nuclear weapon in fewer than 10 years.
The resolution also raises questions about the role of the Senate, particularly whether it can or should tackle national and international issues or only those dealing with the incidental fee. The Green Tape Notebook, the rules and practices manual for student government, doesn’t allow the Senate to pass resolutions dealing with issues unrelated to the incidental fee. The Student Senate Rules Committee is looking to change that.
Axelrod said the rules committee is currently looking at adding a clause to the Student Senate rules that allows both finance resolutions, which deal with the incidental fee, and issues resolutions, which deal with the opinion and stance of the Student Senate as a whole.
Axelrod introduced the resolution to the Student Senate on Jan. 18. At the meeting, he told senators, “the president of Iran is crazy, and he’s coming up with this nuclear weapons program and stuff like that, which is threatening to Israel and American interests, as well.” Axelrod will bring it back to the Senate when it has voted on rule changes, allowing the body to sign the resolution as a whole.
Co-author of the resolution and Jewish Student Union President Jonathan Rosenberg brought the issue to Axelrod’s attention. Brendan Good, an undergraduate majoring in geography, also helped write the resolution. Good, who is involved in the Jewish Student Union, Campus Relations and Oregon Israel Alliance, acknowledged that it’s a difficult situation, but said it needs to be brought to the world’s attention that Iran is going to threaten the West.
He said the United Nations hasn’t been able to determine whether Iran is seeking nuclear power for energy or for weapons.
“They’re trying to get enriched nuclear power for energy, but it doesn’t line up because they have oil,” Good said. Rosenberg said the resolution is a bipartisan movement, with support from College Democrats and College Republicans chairmen, that was put into action after Iran threatened the U.S. He hopes to mobilize students, educate them on the issue of nuclear programs and join the international community in opposing the Iranian government.
Members from about 14 University student fee-funded groups have signed the petition. Rosenberg said he is trying to mobilize Iranian students and Middle Eastern students in this effort as well because the resolution is against the government, not the people, of Iran.
At the Jan. 18 meeting, Senator Toby Piering said he feared that by taking a stand against Iran he would offend some of his Iranian or Middle Eastern constituents.
“I know I represent some Iranian students out there that would probably disagree with this action,” Piering said.
Walsh would not comment on the how Iranian students might view this resolution, but he did note that several authors and others pushing the motion forward are from the Jewish community.
“The people circulating the petition and attempting to have it come before the Senate are obviously from one specific constituency,” he said. “It brings up a lot of questions, I guess, too.”
Walsh said the issue should not be before the Student Senate to begin with.
Senate Treasurer Mike Filippelli said the Constitution Court, which rules over all issues, policies and actions dealing with the Constitution, denied an earlier resolution to “make textbooks more affordable,” because of a Green Tape Notebook rule that prevents the Student Senate from resolutions that aren’t relevant to the incidental fee.
Constitution Court Chief Justice Tony McCown won’t pass any resolutions until the wording in the Green Tape Notebook is changed, Filippelli said. Senate needs a majority vote on the resolution before it is sent to the rules committee and eventually the Constitution Court. The ASUO executive branch can’t veto the resolution.
The Senate’s rules committee will meet Tuesday at 4 p.m. in Friendly 206 to try to expand the Senate’s authority in making resolutions. To sign the petition, send an e-mail to [email protected].
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