The Oswego State Student Association meeting on Nov. 27 was forced to recess after not having enough senators to meet quorum.
They had 12 out of 18 senators present at the beginning of the meeting, so they were able to begin discussing what was on the agenda. However, one senator left in the middle of the meeting, so Vice President Edward Kelly had the meeting go to recess.
“The way that it’s working right now is we’re in recess, so we can now discuss really about anything, so if you have questions for bills or legislation, you can still address those to Miranda [Kryskow, director of finance],” Kelly said.
Without the minimum 12 senators present, no business can be voted on. So, although the senators could have discussed what was on their agenda, they were unable to take action on it and would need to re-discuss it the following meeting, which was moved to Thursday. Without 12 senators present, they were not even able to officially adjourn the meeting, so the meeting is technically in recess until they have at least 12 senators present to adjourn it.
During the meeting, President Omar van Reenan stepped in to give his suggestions to Kelly.
“They can ask Director Kryskow any questions they would like to and have the committee meetings, and on Tuesday, we continue the Senate, and then the Senate can decide [on the bills],” van Reenan said.
Some senators were disappointed with not being able to finish their business during the meeting, as the semester is coming to an end.
“In my three years of Senate, this is the first time to happen, though we have had to start meetings late due to senators being late,” said senator and president pro tempore Andre Nichols. “A lot of times, I’ve seen us meet the bare minimum for quorum, which is also an issue.”
In order to discuss what was meant to be discussed on Tuesday, Kelly called a special meeting on Thursday to debate a club sport funding bill. On Tuesday, senators had different ideas about what should be done about not meeting quorum. Nichols said he credits some of the quorum to the dedication of the current senators and has a solution to this problem.
“We need to have senators that are truly committed to this organization, as I feel some do not take this issue as seriously as others,” Nichols said. “I am also hoping to present a constitutional amendment next semester that will grant unelected Senate seats to members of different student organizations, such as club sports, academic clubs and affinity organizations, like Black Student Union or Caribbean Student Association.”
During the meeting, Kelly expressed similar concerns on attendance as well.
“Please try to hold your peers accountable,” Kelly said. “If [senators] are not here and we don’t meet quorum, then we can’t do anything, and that’s an injustice to the students.”
Nichols also expressed concern with how Student Association is being run this year under van Reenan. He said he feels van Reenan does not allow for as much collaboration as the president should.
“The executive branch, mainly President van Reenen, has made Student Association a hostile environment for students and SA members,” Nichols said. “The President’s aggressive leadership, refusal to allow the Senate to properly conduct business, and his meddling with the Senate process and executive overreach have driven veteran members of the Senate away and stunted growth within our organization.”
Nichols said SA runs smoothest when all members work together equally.
“While the president is the head of this organization, he must realize this is a student government, with three independent branches all working simultaneously to better the lives of students on the SUNY Oswego campus, and his petty politics and refusal to compromise and get things done is negatively affecting that,” Nichols said.
Photo by Julia Tilley | The Oswegonian
