This semester the College of Arts and Science (A&S) Student Council has been reviewing its constitution for the first time since 2018. Many amendments have been proposed, one of which has proved controversial. As a student senator and member of the Arts and Science Council, I have been involved in every step of the amendment-making process and would now like to provide an insider view to students seeking transparency in the Student Government Association (SGA). As a senator who relies heavily on student input to guide my actions in SGA, I want to encourage as many students as possible to give opinions, voice concerns, and use their SGA representatives to their advantage. 

My goal is to provide a resource to inform and encourage students who want to participate in the SGA decision-making process. I will provide background information about the upcoming amendments and how they are passed, make the case for why I support adopting the amendments, and will outline the concerns some council members have raised in opposition to the amendments. I will also explain how students can get involved and make their voices heard in SGA.

Background

Education at the University of Louisville is organized into 12 schools or colleges that specialize in different disciplines. For example, we have a school of law, school of music, college of business, etc. The College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) is the largest college serving about 9000 students and accounting for over half the total credit hours taught at UofL. The student body of each school or college elects senators to represent them in SGA and to serve on a student council with other students from their respective college. These councils are given a budget by the Student Government Association to be used to benefit students. This year the A&S council budget is about $8,000 and has been used to host events like an art show to highlight student achievement, purchase school supplies that are made available to students for free, and improve the A&S Council lounge that has been unavailable to students since the pandemic.

Each council has a constitution to outline their meeting procedures and member responsibilities and, in order to amend their constitution, the changes must be approved by the council then by the student senate. The senate must have two “readings” of the proposed amendments which means that they are presented at a senate meeting for  initial debate and discussion, then they are sent to a committee who reviews any changes that were made during the first debate and recommends their own changes. Finally, the amendments are presented at a second senate meeting to be either approved or rejected. Currently, the A&S Student Council constitutional amendments have been approved by the council with a 2/3rds majority vote, have had a first reading at the senate, and have been sent to council for debate and recommendation.  

Text of the Upcoming A&S Constitutional Amendment 

The amendment I am most focused on concerns Article VI section 2 of the College of Arts and Sciences Student Council constitution which lays out the “Specific Duties of the College of Arts and Sciences Senators.” A line was added that reads: 

“[Student Senators must] Complete at least 3 in-person office hours per week (while class is in session, during the fall and spring semesters), exemptions may be made at the discretion of the President.” 

In-person means that the office hours would be held in the A&S student council lounge/office in davidson hall. Important to note is that during the same constitutional revision it was proposed that the President and Vice President of the A&S Council would be required to complete 5 in-person office hours and non-Senator council members would be required to complete 1 in-person office hour a week. These were disputed neither during the Student Council debate nor during the first reading at the senate and have been sent to committee unchanged. 

The main point of contention was with the senator’s office hours. During debate at the student council, some Senators were concerned about mandating in-person office hours. They argued that while many of the current senators are able to commit the time, they do not want to add a constitutional requirement requiring future Senators to complete the same office hours as it could be a deterrent for students who would have otherwise run for a position in the Senate. Those in favor of office hours pointed to the last clause of the amendment that states Senators who feel they were unable to complete office hours may appeal to the council president and be exempt. After a lengthy debate the amendments were passed by a substantial 2/3 majority vote of the council and sent to the Senate for the first reading. 

During debate at the Senate, many of the same concerns were raised with the opposition expressing anxiety that the power to exempt senators from office 

hours would be placed in the hands of one person. I personally am in favor of office hours and countered this argument by pointing to Section 5.4.6 of the Student Government Association Constitution which lays out the power of the SGA Supreme Court and reads: 

“[the SGA Supreme Court shall] Serve as an arbitrator in matters involving the Executive Branch and the Student Councils, when requested.”

I argued that the SGA Supreme court is underutilized and exists to be used in this exact situation. If a Senator is unhappy with the council president’s decision and feels that they were not treated fairly they may appeal their case to the Supreme Court for a second opinion. 

Another concern raised by those opposed to the amendment is how effective office hours would actually be at achieving the goal of increasing interactions with students. Those opposed to office hours claimed that students were not interested in meeting in person and would rather communicate with their student Senate Representatives via email. Those in favor brought up that students already have the option to use email but one of SGA’s biggest challenges is that students are unaware of what SGA does or how it can be used so they seldom, if ever, contact senators via email. 

Office hours are an attempt to remedy this. By having the A&S council lounge room located in an area where many A&S students take classes, It provides the opportunity for students to come in and have conversations with their representatives and learn about what SGA has to offer. Additionally, the lounge can only be open if a senator or council representative is present, so maximizing the time that senators are in the room maximizes the time students can come in and take advantage of the physical study space and resources offered. 

After debate, the Senate voted to strike the hours requirement for student senators and leave in place the hours requirements for council President, Vice President, and non-senator council members. The A&S constitution was then sent to the council that has yet to meet. As it stands this is unlikely to be the final version adopted by the senate. A&S Council President Rebekah Flowers plans to seek a compromise in committee to bring back to the senate for its second reading. 

Next Steps 

The upcoming student council amendments will directly affect students’ ability to get in touch with their representatives and I encourage students to reach out to their representatives, attend student council meetings, and come to senate meetings in order to stay the most up to date on SGA proceedings. The next Arts and Science student council room is located in Davidson hall, first floor, across from the bathrooms by the POD. All student council and senate meetings are open to the public.