The biggest news to come out of this year’s ASUO Senate may not be how much budgets increase or who files grievances against whom. What could be making headlines, from this
newspaper to Fox News Channel, is a newfound appreciation for the power of the resolution.
Resolutions are “the only means by which Senate can adopt a position,”
according to ASUO rules, on matters “in the direct interest of the overwhelming majority of the incidental fee-paying students.”
With any luck, the headlines will be about the resolutions Senate passes, unlike the past two years when senators tried three times to stand in favor of preserving McArthur Court before passing a watered-down version and ultimately failed at opposing sweatshops.
This year, thanks to imminent changes in the rules, a few graduations and a slight change of heart, the Senate is already considering at least three possible resolutions. One would express support for the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. (Student aid AND fiscal responsibility? Why that’s both halves of the Senate in one bill!). Another being talked about would pressure the University to be more open with its public records. And the one that could make it on the O’Reilly Factor would ask the University to make the faculty more ideologically diverse.
In the spring, former Emerald columnist Dan Lawton raised the question of whether the University has a dearth of conservative professors, and the issue coursed through the conservative blogosphere and talk radio for weeks.
“I’ve come under the realization that it’s important to have diverse professors on campus because they offer opportunities to minority students,” said Sen. Demic Tipitino, a College Republican. He said while working during the summer with Student Orientation that he was convinced of the role faculty of color can play as mentors to students of color. Diversity should not end with skin color, Tipitino said, and conservatives are a minority here.
Senate Vice President Nick Schultz signed on to the idea in the spring, though he said he would like a resolution that backs academic diversity beyond only political identity.
“It’s not just so much political orientation; you need a diversity of educators,” he said.
After Senate rejected resolutions he sponsored in the spring supporting sweat-free labor and opposing the University’s contract with Russell Athletic, Schultz has advice for students and senators interested in passing resolutions: Bring along as many students as possible who are not already involved in the ASUO. Make the resolution broad enough to attract support but specific enough to mean something. And build support before going to Senate.
“You need to communicate with senators and the executive before introducing it on the floor. The best thing you can do is share them with everyday students, share them with the media, get feedback,” Schultz said.
It’s difficult to tell how any of the resolutions currently under consideration would fare with a new group of senators. The Senate spends the bulk of its time dealing with financial matters, and the usual divisions over spending don’t always hold on other questions. Still, there are ways to limit the scope of the debate, and the potential exists for a left-right divide.
Tipitino and Senate President Nick Gower are offering qualified support for hearing resolutions that have a direct impact on students on this campus. That’s why they did not support resolutions related to sweatshop workers in Honduras. Resolutions dealing with the University’s openness or hiring practices seem to meet the test of directly affecting University students, so long as each are presented in a way that they are supported by two-thirds of senators — which would currently require 12 votes.
A resolution backing a congressional student aid bill on the other hand could be interpreted as a boon for all students, or something far removed from this campus. The Democratic nature of the bill could also inspire skepticism among more conservative senators.
There’s no way to tell until senators start drafting resolutions and compromising to win votes. What matters is that veteran senators are realizing the power a resolution can carry, and this year it seems they won’t be afraid to use it.
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