Soon student groups may be able to dictate the make-up of their leadership beyond the election process. Currently, student groups are open to all USM students, and elected leadership positions are also open to all students. If proposed changes to the Student Senate constitution are adopted, student groups would be allowed to write specific requirements for leadership eligibility into their constitutions.
Organizations such as the Evangelical Christian Group and the Honors Society want to make it a requirement for their chair, vice chair, treasurer and other leadership positions to be Evangelical Christians or Honors students, respectively. The controversy stems from whether allowing student groups to specify requirements in their constitutions would violate discrimination laws concerning protected classes. Participants at a recent public forum discussed the proposed changes in relation to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which allows for free assembly.
The Student Senate’s Constitutional Review Committee (CRC), which reviews student group constitutions as well as the Student Senate constitution before final approval by the Senate, held the Senate’s first public forum in recent history to discuss both aspects of the issue. The forum, held last Thursday, was attended by several members of student groups including the Pagan Student Association, the Accounting Club, the Evangelical Christian Group, and the Computer Users Group.
Daryl Morazzini, Board of Student Organizations (BSO) president, argued that the current system allows for sabotage in that someone who does not share the greater interests of the group could be voted into a leadership position and consequently destroy the group from the inside.
Janine Gorham, member of the Pagan Student Association, said she didn’t believe in excluding anyone from a student group. “Even as a religious group, we’re not comfortable limiting our e-board to people calling themselves Pagan. … There is knowledge to be gained in respectful discourse. Everyone should have access.”
The primary student groups that would take advantage of this change would be religious groups. One of the most vocal groups at the forum was the Evangelical Christian Group, which believed the change would not exclude people but instead define the group.
Kathleen Pease, coordinator of Student Senate operations, said the right to define the leadership by specific qualities would open the door for groups to allow only white members or downhill skiers.
Participants discussed leaving the general membership open to all and allowing the group officers to be restricted. Sen. Ben Strout suggested that restricting officers on the basis of choice, such as being a Republican or being Catholic, is not wrong, while restricting on the basis of something that one cannot choose such as color or gender is wrong.
By the end of the forum, the CRC collected significant feedback from interested groups and members of the USM community. However, the question of the legality of the change, considering both freedom of assembly and discriminating against protected classes, is left unanswered.
CRC Chair Matt Amoroso later said Vice President of Student Life Craig Hutchinson was still waiting to hear from University lawyers. Even if they don’t get back to the CRC by Tuesday’s meeting or the final vote at the Senate meeting Friday, the CRC will continue with the process of making the change, or not, depending on the conversations regarding this situation to come.