Implementation of a new policy that would change the way EMU keys are distributed to ASUO student groups has been postponed until November 1 to allow the EMU Board of Directors to weigh in on the decision.
Previously, ASUO student groups had rented keys to the building on a yearly basis, but the new policy would require group members to check out keys on a daily basis and to leave their student cards as collateral.
ASUO leaders, including President Amelie Rousseau, EMU Programs Representative Janet Brooks, Vice President Maneesh Arora and Programs Administrator Sinjin Carey, met with then-EMU Director Dusty Miller on June 7 in an attempt to convince him to reassess his decision.
After deliberations, the resulting compromise suspended the new policy taking effect until November 1. This will afford the EMU Board of Directors, which meets again in October, the opportunity to review the policy and make any changes it deems appropriate.
“According to EMU governance code,” ASUO senator Janet Brooks said, “the EMU Board must approve actions taken by the director. This is a building intended to serve students, and they should have to consult students about policy and allow us to have a say in what goes on.”
It is not the policy itself that student leaders have taken issue with, but the manner of the attempted policy change. On June 4, members of ASUO student groups in the EMU received e-mails at 1:30 p.m. announcing that then-EMU Director Dusty Miller was enacting a new system for allocating keys to the building that would take effect at 3 p.m. that day.
Miller insisted that his decision not to consult the EMU Board about the policy change was justified because the board is responsible for “general policy” and does not handle “day-to-day operations.” Student leaders disagree with the decision.
“This was just sprung on us,” Rousseau said. “We feel like we are being locked out of our own building … having to check keys out every day would be a huge headache for students. We want to come up with a method that is more effective and efficient, but will still solve the EMU’s security concerns.”
Miller asserted that the new procedures were necessary to bolster security for the EMU, a concern that surfaced in February when the LGBTQA office was vandalized.
“What is being attempted,” Miller said, “is to maintain access to the offices without the number of keys being out.”
Over the summer, ASUO officers will be collaborating with University faculty and administrators to generate alternative plans for a key-distribution system. These plans will be presented to the EMU Board, consisting of 12 students and four University staff members, to offer compromises to the plans now in place for November.
“This situation is an example of how important it is for students to have input and to work with staff to have equal participation,” Rousseau said. “This is a student building, and we have to protect student access.”
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EMU Board delays key decision until November
Daily Emerald
June 27, 2010
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