Meeting minutes for Consolidated Student Senate, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, November 1, 1983

CONSOLIDATED STUDENTS AGENDA SENATE MEETING #1 SESSION 14 NOVEMBER 1, 198 3 4:00 P.M. MSU 203 I. Call to Order II. Roll Call III. Approval of Minutes 49 IV. Executive Board Announcements V. Executive Board Nominations VI. Board, Committee and Director Reports A. Ad Hoc Committees 1. Constitutional Revision B. Elections Board C. Entertainment and Programming D. Judicial Council E. Nevada Student Affairs F. Organizations Board G. Professional Programming H. Publications Board I. Radio Board J. Student Services K. Other L. Appropriations Board VII. Old Business VIII. New Business A. Appointment of Education College Senator 1. David Abramson B. Approval of $150 stipend for the month of July for the Vice Chairman of Entertainment and Pro-gramming Board UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS/4505 MARYLAND PARKWAY/LAS VEGAS, NV 89154/(702) 739-3477 MINUTES SENATE MEETING #1 NOVEMBER 1, 19 8 3 PAGE 4 C. Approval of Use of Truck for Elections Board for Wednesday, November 2, 1983 at 1:00 p.m. for Re-turn of Ballot Boxes D. Approval of Use of Car for every Monday in Novem-ber (November 7, 14, 21 and 28), 1983 for Yellin' Rebel E. Approval of Use of Truck for every Tuesday in November(November 8, 15, 22 and 29), 1983 for Yellin' Rebel IX. Open Discussion X. Adjournment CONSOLIDATED STUDENTS MINUTES SENATE MEETING #1 SESSION 14 NOVEMBER 1, 19 83 4:00 P.M. MSU 203 I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 4:00 p.m. II. Roll Call Members in Attendance Sari Bloom Steve Dimick Bill Haldeman Tom Hawley James Ohriner Patrick Adams Karen Cohen Gus Varona Hal Friedman Mark Doubrava Karen Eckert Cara Iddings III. Approval of Minutes #49 Senator Ohriner moved to disapprove the minutes from senate meeting #49. Senator Haldeman seconded the motion. Senator Ohriner stated that there were items in question in the minutes of meeting #49 which this session of the Senate should consider. Senator Varona spoke against the motion. He stated that this Senate should respect the decisions of the previous Senate. Vice President Shaffer asked whether the items approved in the minutes will be considered later in the meeting. Senator Ohriner stated that the items will be addressed. It will be less complicated to amend the particulars to the minutes. Senator Haldeman stated that the integrity of the new Senate had not been honored, and he wished to correct that. Senator Doubrava asked which items were in question of the minutes of meeting #49. UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS/4505 MARYLAND PARKWAY/LAS VEGAS, NV 89154/(702) 739-3477 Members Absent Sam Garvin - late Jay Lezcano - late Robert Eglet - late John Fazi - late Rian Flourens - late Lorin Altman MINUTES SENATE MEETING #1 NOVEMBER 1, 19 8 3 PAGE 4 Senator Ohriner stated that this Senate should have the right to make the decision concerning certain items such as, the appointment of Senate President Pro Tempore and the tie breaker for the Hotel College Senate Seat. Senator Eckert stated that her personal objections to approval of the minutes were in regard to the appoint-ment of Senate President Pro Tempore, the closing of nominations for the Education College Senate seat. Eckert added that were other questionable items. Former Senator, David Mounts, stated that the items which have been pointed out as being questionable are being considered by the Judicial Council. Mounts added that the Judicial Council should be allowed to make its decision after which the Senate should take action. ". . . 1 think that it's absolutely ? display and if you try to make it as any other thing, you'd be simply lying. . ." Ohriner: "Point of privilege." Clay: "State your point." Ohriner: "Mr. Mounts, first of all, I object to you in-ferring that I am a liar. Second of all, " Mounts: "I didn't infer it, then I'll say it,"(*you're lying.) Ohriner: "And second of all, if you wish to address an issue, a constitutional question, and I would like these remarks printed in the minutes, if you don't mind." Mounts: "I would not like them to be printed in the minutes." Ohriner: "I can make it a formal motion. So if, you're afraid to say something in print, then don't say it." Mounts: "Put it in print." Senator Haldeman: "Call for order, Madam Chairman." Clay: "Mr. Mounts, you had your turn at the last session. It's for the new session to take their turn. I allowed you to speak in defense of the session." Ohriner stated that if there is a constitutional question that this Senate objects to then it is best for this Senate to disapprove them and let the Judicial Council decide them for future Senates to use as a point of refer-ence. If this Senate feels that there was an incorrect decision made, then this Senate has the right to change that decision. Senator Cohen stated a passage from the Nevada Open Meeting Law Manual which reads that "any other information which any member of the body requests be included or reflected in the minutes." ,*The exact wording of Mounts' statement was not clear on the tape of this meeting. MINUTES SENATE MEETING #1 NOVEMBER 1, 19 8 3 PAGE 4 Senator Haldeman moved the previous question. Senator Eckert seconded the motion which passed with 10 in favor and 2 opposed(Varona, Bloom). The motion to disapprove the minutes from Senate Meeting #49 passed with 7 in favor, 5 opposed and 0 abstaining. Senator Haldeman requested that the Senate address the information under Old Business. Rian Flourens arrived at the meeting at 4:10 p.m. Senator Cohen raised a point of order and stated that with the disapproval of the minutes, Rian Flourens is not a Senator. Senate President Clay stated that Cohen was correct. IV. Executive Board Announcements A. President Lee There will be a meeting on Thursday, November 3 at 2:00 p.m. at which Xerox will be making its presentation regarding the copier service. The meeting will be held in the MSU Oasis Room and anyone interested is invited to attend. CSUN must make its decision on whether it will provide a campus copier service. Lee also announced that he is glad to see the new Senate take office. B. Vice President Shaffer The $210 which he stated as being charged to the general account(900) at last week's meeting was actually charged to the 90 3 account. Shaffer asked that the correction be made to page 4 of minutes #49. There will be an informal Appropriations Board meeting on Monday, November 7 at 2:00 p.m. Shaffer stated that the last Senate enacted a policy in which the use of a university vehicle must be approved by the Senate. He suggested that this Senate continue with that policy and look into the possibilities of an out-of-state travel policy. Pam Levins, CSUN Business Manager, will be announcing the dates of the two budget workshops at Senate Meeting #2. These workshops are designed to familiarize those who are interested with the workings of the CSUN budget and business procedures. C. Senate President Clay Sam Lieberman has resigned as the chairman of the Organi-zations Board. The Executive Board has received applica-tions for this position and will be nominating a new chair-man at their meeting on Thursday, November 3 at 4:00 p.m. Clay appointed Karen Eckert as her parliamentarian if there were no objections. There were no objections. MINUTES SENATE MEETING #1 NOVEMBER 1, 19 8 3 PAGE 4 Clay received a memo from the Athletic Ticket Manager, Le Riggle. Tickets for the Lady Rebel Basketball games may be obtained with a student I.D. at MPEC-10 5. Tickets to the Runnin1 Rebels basketball games will be issued on a game-by-game basis with a student I.D. beginning Tues-day, November 22. Men's basketball tickets will be issued from the Thomas/Mack ticket office. Clay welcomed the new Senators. She also stated that she was glad to see that President Lee attended this senate meeting since he had not been in attendance at the past few senate meetings. Senator Lezcano was present. Senator Fazi was present. V. Executive Board Nominations There were no nominations. VI. Board, Committee and Director Reports A. Ad Hoc Committees 1. Constitutional Revision There was a meeting on Thursday, October 27 at 5:30 p.m. which did not achieve quorum. The meeting was recessed and called to order on Mon-day. Quorum was not achieved so the meeting was adjourned. B. Elections Board There was no report. C. Entertainment and Programming Chairman Turner stated that there was no meeting held last night. He is planning a "Rockin' Out with the Red" party/rally for November 18. Senator Eglet was present at 4:17 p.m. He is also planning an event for November 19 after the last football game with local bands. He will present the details and contracts at the next senate meeting. The next E & P meeting will be held on Monday, November 7 at 9:00 p.m. He is hoping to set a new meeting time for a daytime hour. Turner introduced Russell Harvey, a representative from Network Communications, Incorporated. NCI is one of two carriers of satellite signals to the Clark County area. Harvey stated that NCI wrote a letter to CSUN which briefly explained its proposal. Harvey explained the preliminary steps which must be taken before CSUN could sponsor an event with NCI. Senator Lezcano left the meeting at 4:31 p.m. during the period in which members of the Senate were asking questions regarding Russell Harvey's proposal. Senator Garvin arrived at 4:39 p.m. during the discussion on the NCI proposal. MINUTES SENATE MEETING #1 NOVEMBER 1, 19 8 3 PAGE 4 Senator Lezcano returned at 4:45 p.m. D.; Judicial Council Justice Taylor stated that a memo had been distributed listing the Council's current calendar cases. E. Nevada Student Affairs There was no report. F. Organizations Board There was no report. G. Professional Programming David Mounts announced the lecture to be held tomorrow November 2 at 7:00 p.m. with Gary Hart, U.S. Presidential candidate. There are 800 tickets in distribution. There was a meeting on Friday, October 28 at 1:30 p.m. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Mounts was not present at that meeting until some time after 1:30. The meeting did not achieve quorum so he recessed until Saturday, October 2 9 at 12:00 noon. The meeting did not achieve quorum on Saturday and was recessed until 1:30 p.m. today (Nov. 1). There was no quorum today so the meeting was adjourned. Senator Haldeman moved to approve the report of the Professional Programming Department. Senator Eglet seconded the motion which passed with all in favor. H. Publications Board There was no report. I. Radio Board There was no report. J. Student Services There was no report. K. Other At 4:54 p.m., several senators left the meeting. Senator Haldeman called for quorum. Senator Ohriner requested that the Senate move into section IX, Open Discussion. At this time, Senator Cohen requested that roll be taken and the time the Senators left the meeting be recorded. At 4:55 p.m., the roll was taken. Second Roll Call Members in Attendance Steve Dimick Bill Haldeman Tom Hawley James Ohriner MINUTES SENATE MEETING #1 NOVEMBER 1, 19 8 3 PAGE 4 Karen Cohen John Fazi Hal Friedman Karen Eckert Cara Iddings Members Absent Sari Bloom - unexcused Samuel Garvin - unexcused Jay Lezcano Patrick Adams - unexcused Robert Eglet - unexcused Gus Varona - unexcused Lorin Altman Mark Doubrava - unexcused The meeting had lost quorum. Senator Hawley pointed out that Gary Samuelson is not a Senator and should not have been called for attendance. IX. Open Discussion Senator Ohriner stated that he could cite contempt of legislation in reference to the group of senators who just left the meeting. Ohriner also stated that the senators who left the meeting committed an "irresponsible act," and he requested that his comments be reflected in the minutes. Senator Ohriner then made the following remarks: "Madam President, fellow Senators, and Guests; I wish to take this opportunity to give a short statement of my beliefs and of the guidelines and practices that I will adhere to during my term in office. These statements are not meant as a threat; They shall, however, serve as the premise for the decisions I will make and shall likewise serve as justification for what may appear to be inflexibility. First and foremost, I intend to practice what I preach, especially in terms of professionalism. I refuse to coordinate or participate in personal attacks using my Senate seat as a vehicle to verbally assault CSUN officers. When problems occur among CSUN officers, the senate floor should serve as the final alternative, the last resort. In simplest terms, I refuse to serve as judge and jury in personal accusations against CSUN officers or anyone else for that matter. The only personnel reviews by the senate should be made in the most severe of cases, with censure or dismissal being the true intent. Blind threats are juvenile and unbecoming this honorable body. Within the next few weeks, I intend to introduce legisla-tion significantly curtailing the common practice of "closed personnel sessions." Our state legislature has only closed its doors twice in the past 119 years; CSUN regularly closes its doors to the public to bad mouth MINUTES SENATE MEETING #1 NOVEMBER 1, 19 8 3 PAGE 4 (Remarks by Senator Ohriner, cont.) fellow officers. This in no way serves the best interest of CSUN, the students, or the University. We must work together and operate in the open, be-cause what we do affects the students(who have almost half million dollars invested in us), the University, and the community at large. Our CSUN Bill of Rights guarantees access to CSUN meetings, and I feel that we should adhere to those goals. Secondly, I will not allow anyone to force me into snap decisions on matters concerning legal contracts and major expenditures. Rules are established to give checks_ and balances. They allow for errors to be caught before ~ any real harm can occur. However, in prior senates, appropriations calling for expenditures of thousands of dollars, the students' dollars have bypassed the proper channels and have been approved by anxious senators. They may have complained about it, sworm that they wouldn't do it again, but the practice continued. I refuse to be "railroaded" into snap judgements on such consequential issues. Although it would be preferable to rely on depart ment heads to present all of the relevent material, it is my responsibility for my vote, and you for your vote. We can't blame other officers for errors that we vote for. I will make you this promise: If I am forced into giving a vote on major money expenditures and legal documents without giving me time to read, understand, and research it, I will vote no, no matter what the politicial conse-quences. My responsibility is to my constituents and UNLV not to a department officials. I would rather support the status quo than make a devastating error. Just be-cause a department may act irrationally, that is no reason for the senate to follow suit. A third matter is that of time. To me, and I am sure you all can agree, time is a commodity that must be spent wisely. The day of the four hour senate meetings must come to an end. If the Nevada Legislature can decide on a new tax base in under 2 hours, we can certainly handle our legislative work in comparable time. Many of us have things we must do: some have an evening class, some must work, and some, must do homework. If the issue is of major concern, I, along with most others, would be more than happy to stay until its completion or recess to the next day. If the matter is trivial, however, I will not hesitate to either move to adjourn before it is re-solved or excuse myself from the meeting. I doubt there are many of us who want to stay her until 8:00 p.m. dis-cussing time schedules of the secretaries. We have established boards, committees, and councils to manage and prepare issues for the Senate to consider. If the appropriate board has no appetite for an issue, then we should not spend hours of debate on it. Only in MINUTES SENATE MEETING #1 NOVEMBER 1, 19 8 3 PAGE 4 (Remarks by Senator Ohriner, cont.) rare cases should the entire Senate debate an entire issue. The committees should examine and narrow the relevant issues. This conserves Senator time and makes for a smoother flow in session. The last item I wish to bring up is my adherence to parliamentary procedure. As most of you are well aware, I am a fairly competent student of Robert's Rules of Order. I don't like disorganization within an organi-zation; they are two contradictory terms. Informal con-versations can be useful in committee meetings, but a legislative body such as ourself, should maintain a co-herent flow. Anyone who knows Robert's Rules can abuse them. I do not advocate such use, but rather, I suggest that the CSUN Constitution, Robert's Rules, and all state laws should be properly maintained. It is only in this manner that we can operate at optimum efficiency and best serve the students. But always remember this: There are many Senators presently on this Senate who know Robert's Rules and the CSUN Constitution inside and out, and if the game playing starts and parliamentary arrows are slung, there are a lot more archers in the field. This is not meant as a threat, but more as a statement of fact. We will function best when we maintain trust and work together, and I am confident that this Senate will be one of the best ones in recent history, but if someone wants to play hard-ball, there are plenty of Senators who know how to play the game. Finally, to end on a lighter note, I want to congratulate my fellow newly-elected senators, and although I am sure that we wi-1 always have our disagreements, I hope that we can leave our terms in office in the same cordial man-ner in which we came. I may have said some things this afternoon that may turn some of you off, but I prefer to get everything out in the open to start with. Thank you for allowing me this time to enlighten some of you, in-form others, and bore the rest. James I wrote in a reply to Commons in 1621: 'I will govern to the common weal, but not according to the common will.' I hope that we can make UNLV a little better during this, the 14th ses-sion of the CSUN Senate." Senator Cohen referred to Bylaw 11 which states legis-lation remains in effect until amendment, repeal or expiration. The policy on vehicles from motorpool remains in effect. Cohen asked whether vehicles can be approved with certain executive board members' sig-natures . Clay stated that three out of five executive board signatures is necessary for authorization of a vehicle not approved by the senate. Clay added that currently, one would need three out of four signatures due to the lack of a senate president pro tempore. MINUTES SENATE MEETING #1 NOVEMBER 1, 19 8 3 PAGE 4 Senator Cohen requested that Roby Turner present a breakdown in costs, cash flow statement, dates and any other details regarding the NCI proposal for the senate's consideration. Cohen suggested that the senators submit their schedules to the office so one can find out what times a senator is in class, at work or available for meetings. Cohen asked where agenda item request forms could be obtained. Clay stated that Pam(Shannon) has the forms in the office. Senator Ohriner requested that an item regarding Discussion/Action on the xerox copier machine proposal be placed on the next senate agenda. Senator Cohen asked what the proper procedure for submitting agenda items would be whether it be filling out an agenda item request form or verbally requesting the agenda item during the senate meeting. Senate President Clay stated that she would accept re-quests for agenda items during the senate meeting since the tape recorder is on. Otherwise, she will accept agenda item request forms by 12 noon on Thursdays for the following Tuesday meeting. Justice Taylor stated that as a student she was disappointed to see the group of senators walk out of the meeting. Their actions were "childish." Taylor also pointed out that the new senators also came into the senate meeting as a "block" which put the old senators on the defensive. Everyone on the senate should try to be objective. This behavior must end and a compromise must be achieved. Taylor stated that she sees inconsistencies in the arguments some of the senators have made. Senator Haldeman asked that Senator Cohen apologize for interrupting Barbara Taylor. Senator Cohen apologized. Senator Haldeman stated that the 14th session was attacked and some of the senators want to refute the attack. The items would have been considered by this senate under old business. Senator Ohriner stated that he did not wish to undermine anyone's authority. This senate simply wants control of what it does. The integrity of the 14th session is in jeopardy, and the senate must take the time to correct the errors made. Ohriner requested that it be placed on record that he wishes the senators who walked out of this meeting to be individually and collectively censured. Former Senate President Pro Tempore Pasquantino urged the new senators to work together to get something accomplished. MINUTES SENATE MEETING #1 NOVEMBER 1, 19 8 3 PAGE 4 Pasquantino asked that the senators who left the meeting not be censored, because those people were elected to represent. Censorship would remove the senator's repre-sentation and that is wrong. Pasquantino added that he supported Ohriner1s statements on shorter meetings and suggested that the senate limit debate to two minutes as it is done in many state and national assemblies. Pasquantino also stated that an action must occur for a case on that action to be considered by the Judicial Council. If the senate eliminates the action for the act in question, then the case is moot and the Judicial Council should not consider it. Pasquantino wished the new and returning members of the senate congratulations and good luck. Justice Taylor stated that she is trying to see the situation as objectively as possible. Taylor sees inconsistencies in the arguments of the senate and urged all involved to be objective and listen to both Senator Ohriner stated that censure would not take away the speaking privileges of the senators. Pasquantino thought that Ohriner said "censor." Senator Haldeman stated that it is procedurally correct for the senate correct decisions made previously. The Judicial Council can consider any point of legality in the Constitution which anyone may feel needs clarification. The act in question does not need to be occuring at the present time. The Judicial Council may consider a case on hypothetical situations. Justice Taylor stated that she was not certain whether the Council could consider certain cases; she would have to discuss that with Chief Justice Oshinski. Senate President Clay announced that senate preference sheets must be turned in. Senate agenda item request forms must be submitted by noon on Thursday. The rescinding or reconsideration of the items in the minutes must be placed on the next senate agenda. X. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 5:23 p.m. Respectfully submitted by, Respectfully prepared by, sides. CSUN Senate President CSUN Secretary