Pursuing SA Reform

Coronavirus aside, no issue is of greater importance in this election than SA Reform. Over the last few months, we have seen the Student Assembly become an illiberal institution. Using fear and intimidation to suppress dissent, forcing political opponents underground and grossly mischaracterizing anyone who dares to question the leadership are the tenets of an authoritarian state, not a democratic body.

Unfortunately, the events over the last few months were a symptom of many internal issues that have persisted over the years: a lack of accountability, decreased representative rights, inability to take criticism without devolving to personal attacks, a "holier than thou" attitude towards governing and more.

I was a pioneer in SA Reform long before the SAFC controversy took place and Students for SA Reform was even a thing, penning an op-ed on many of the institutional issues in more detail.

After talking with SA Members and community members, I have derived a reform agenda that I will pursue from Day 1 if elected. To have the best chance at success, I aim to implement it in phases starting with resolutions addressing the most pressing flaws.

Phase 1: The First 30 Days

(aka Checks and Balances)

If elected, I will bring the following resolutions to the floor within the first 30 days of the SA Meeting following the election. These resolutions address the most critical issues concerning SA accountability and culture.

Resolution 1: Establishing the Student Assembly Oversight Board
- Creates a judicial system to handle disputes between students/student organizations and SA/SAFC
- 1 Chair, 1 Clerk and 7 Student Jurors
- Random selection of jurors, bringing shared governance to the students while eliminating cronyism that has plagued influential SA committees.
- Move election challenges from Elections Committee to the SA Oversight Board
- Chair presides over case, jurors hear arguments, ask questions and determine a ruling.
- Both parties would have the option to appeal to a designated Judicial Codes Counselor, a trained law student, if they find the ruling unsatisfactory.

Resolution 2: Mandating Conflict Resolution and Mediation Training for SA Members
- Require SA Members to undergo semester or yearly training centered on conflict resolution, mediation and good civil discourse.
- Performed by University Ombudsman or Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution
- Helps introduce a more inclusive and diverse SA culture, reduces persistent anti-democratic attitudes.
- Training would teach lifelong skills to members

Resolution 3: Creation of the SA Charter and Bylaws Committee
- Create a operational committee on the Student Assembly Charter and Bylaws
- At least 10 people, 50% SA Members, 50% community members though open application like most other committees.
- No more than two members on the SA side can be executive members
- Gives students greater transparency over potential Charter and Bylaw changes, no longer behind the closed doors of executive committee
- Gives greater representative power and allows community to pitch their own ideas

Resolution 4: Creation of a Remote Student Representative for the 2020-2021 Academic Year
- Temporarily establishes the position titled "Remote Student Representative At-Large" as a voting member of the assembly
- Allows the unique concerns faced by remote students not in Ithaca to be heard and represented by the SA

Resolution 5: Establishing a Minimum Time Requirement for Elections
- Last year, the elections calendar had pushed the election cycle so early in the semester that anyone who wanted to challenge the leadership was at a disadvantage
- This resolution would mandate that at least 21 calendar days have passed since the first day of classes before the deadline for petitions and 30 days before the start of the voting period, giving sufficient time for challengers to organize.

Phase 2: SAFC, Byline and Accessibility

Re-integrate SAFC with SA
Student Activity Fee Reform
Electronic Voting
Live Streaming (w/captions, when in-person meetings return)

Phase 3: Reducing Barriers to Entry

SA Composition Reform
- Expanded Composition with 50% URM guarantee
Electoral Reform
- Campus-wide proportional representation using the D'Hondt Method

Pursuing SA Reform

Phase 1: The First 30 Days

(aka Checks and Balances)

​

If elected, I will bring the following resolutions to the floor within the first 30 days of the SA Meeting following the election. These resolutions address the most critical issues concerning SA accountability and culture.

​

Resolution 1: Establishing the Student Assembly Oversight Board

Creates a judicial system to handle disputes between students/student organizations and SA/SAFC​

1 Chair, 1 Clerk and 7 Student Jurors

Random selection of jurors, bringing shared governance to the students while eliminating cronyism that has plagued influential SA committees.

Move election challenges from Elections Committee to the SA Oversight Board

Chair presides over case, jurors hear arguments, ask questions and determine a ruling.

Both parties would have the option to appeal to a designated Judicial Codes Counselor, a trained law student, if they find the ruling unsatisfactory.

​

Resolution 2: Mandating Conflict Resolution and Mediation Training for SA Members

Require SA Members to undergo semester or yearly​ training centered on conflict resolution, mediation and good civil discourse.

Performed by University Ombudsman or Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution

Helps introduce a more inclusive and diverse SA culture, reduces persistent anti-democratic attitudes.

Training would teach lifelong skills to members​

​

Resolution 3: Creation of the SA Charter and Bylaws Committee

Create a operational committee on the Student Assembly Charter and Bylaws​

At least 10 people, 50% SA Members, 50% community members though open application like most other committees.

No more than two members on the SA side can be executive members

Gives students greater transparency over potential Charter and Bylaw changes, no longer behind the closed doors of executive committee

Gives greater representative power and allows community to pitch their own ideas

​

Resolution 4: Creation of a Remote Student Representative for the 2020-2021 Academic Year

Temporarily establishes the ​position titled "Remote Student Representative At-Large" as a voting member of the assembly

Allows the unique concerns faced by remote students not in Ithaca to be heard and represented by the SA

​

Resolution 5: Establishing a Minimum Time Requirement for Elections

Last year, the elections calendar had pushed the election cycle so early in the semester that anyone who wanted to challenge the leadership was at a disadvantage

This resolution would mandate that at least 21 calendar days have passed since the first day of classes before the deadline for petitions and 30 days before the start of the voting period, giving sufficient time for challengers to organize.

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Phase 2: SAFC, Byline and Accessibility

​​​

Re-integrate SAFC with SA

Student Activity Fee Reform

Electronic Voting

Live Streaming (w/captions, when in-person meetings return)

Phase 3: Reducing Barriers to Entry

​

SA Composition Reform

Expanded Composition with 50% URM guarantee​

Electoral Reform

Campus-wide proportional representation ​using the D'Hondt Method

Creates a judicial system to handle disputes between students/student organizations and SA/SAFC

Require SA Members to undergo semester or yearly training centered on conflict resolution, mediation and good civil discourse.

Training would teach lifelong skills to members

Create a operational committee on the Student Assembly Charter and Bylaws

Temporarily establishes the position titled "Remote Student Representative At-Large" as a voting member of the assembly

Expanded Composition with 50% URM guarantee

Campus-wide proportional representation using the D'Hondt Method