The ASUO Constitution Court on Friday approved a change to the “Equal Opportunity” clause of the program rules outlined in the ASUO governing document.
Previously, section 82.1 of the program rules in the Green Tape Notebook read: “The ASUO affirms the right of all individuals to equal opportunity in education, employment and access to incidental fee funded programs and their funded activities, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, different ability, national origin, marital status, veterans’ status, or any other considerations not directly and substantially related to effective participation.”
The new section has added “ethnicity” and “gender identity expression” to the clause, giving extra protection to all students, former ASUO President Jared Axelrod said.
The change was requested by the Recognition and Review Committee, which recognizes new student groups and ensures that current groups are living up to their mission statements.
Because the RRC is an executive committee, Axelrod submitted the requested change to the court.
Axelrod said the RRC and Executive wanted to make the change to “make sure we’re reaching out to a wider range of students.”
“It should have been approved and I’m glad the Con Court approved it,” he said.
– Jobetta Hedelman