An emergency Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) council meeting was held Jan. 24 to address the logistics of the fast-approaching 2012 election.
The meeting, which was advertised on CUSA’s Facebook page as an opportunity for students to address the proposed referendum questions, drew a crowd of upwards of 40 students wanting to have their voices heard.
The first order of business was to ratify a chief electoral officer (CEO) to run the election. MacAndrew Clarke had been put forward at the previous CUSA meeting but his appointment was contested. His replacement, Sean Finn, was ratified with little issue.
Upon ratification, Finn quickly turned the meeting towards the writ of election, which was also agreed upon without incident. However, when it came to discussing the referendum questions, council was once again stalled.
Concerns were raised by special students councillor Ashley Scorpio, since the list of referendum questions distributed by the CEO did not match the list that was released over two weeks ago.
Some of the questions, including the one about amending CUSA’s anti-discrimination policy to ban groups that promote guns and gun violence, were no longer on the list.
It was then explained that because there had been no CEO at the last meeting, the CUSA clerk had simply compiled a list of all questions submitted to the ombudsman. Finn said he removed the questions with no student name and number attached in light of his impending ratification as CEO.
Finn said he had not seen the question about banning firearm groups.
“So what gives someone else the power to just say what goes on and off — there’s a process,” said journalism councillor Yaelle Gang. “Someone’s making decisions by themselves without the power to do so.”
Although the issue was settled, council was then held up, similar to the last council meeting, from going further in the 68-page meeting agenda.
The students in the audience became upset when debate on the referendum questions was stifled by the acting chair, Stephanie Feldman, who was voted in to replace Brent Farrington at the last meeting.
Feldman said in order to debate and ratify the referendum questions in council, they had to be first discussed in a committee meeting according to CUSA policy. Her ruling was challenged by faculty of arts and social sciences (FASS) councillor Sarah Cooper, on the grounds that the legal settlement “trumps” bylaws and allows council to “skip” some of the regular processes in order to fast track the election.
The validity of Cooper’s challenge was then challenged by fellow FASS councillor Brandon Wallingford.
It took council over 30 minutes to decide that the chair could be challenged. The challenge ultimately failed, leading to immense discussion on how the referendum questions wouldn’t be ready for the February elections as a result of the delay.
“Council basically, by what they’ve done, have created a second election solely for the referendum . . . this is going to cost students upwards of $30,000,” said vice-president (finance) Karim Khamisa. “We’re fostering a sense of apathy here from our membership.”
“Students have come out twice now to speak about these referendum questions, and they deserve the opportunity,” agreed vice-president (internal) Ariel Norman.
“I think changing our rules on a whim is dangerous to those rules,” Wallingford countered.
“There’s a process, people want to stick to that process,” agreed Gang.
Council business was ground to a halt over four and a half hours after it started. President Obed Okyere called for a recess until Jan. 26 due to high tensions in the room.
“We managed to get through four hours, once again, and then adjourned our meeting, once again, without actually accomplishing any of the items on the agenda, except for passing one writ of election,” Wallingford said, while attempting unsuccessfully to stop the recess until Jan. 26. “I am entirely disgusted that this council has not managed to finish off this council meeting.”
Past coverage:
Campus groups feel ‘targeted’ by referendum questions
CUSA chair turfed by councillors
