An Undergraduate Senate vote this Sunday will determine if students will vote in a referendum April 28 on the implementation of a Students' Bill of Rights, according to Georgette Spanjich, who chairs the senate's Committee on Students' Rights.
If students pass the referendum, the SG will lobby university administration and other AU bodies to make sure they implement the rights and policies outlined by the bill of rights, according to Class of 2010 Senator Julie Mills.
The committee has worked on language for the proposed students' bill of rights since October, Spanjich said.
At a Monday forum hosted by the committee, students had the opportunity to discuss the issues the potential Students' Bill of Rights would address. Approximately 75 people, including the seven senators who serve on the committee and SG President Joe Vidulich, attended the meeting. The majority of the attendees were students not associated with the SG, Mills said.
Spanjich said Monday's meeting was very successful.
"We had an excellent turnout and we felt reassured that we had covered several of the specific concerns mentioned in the intentionally broad clauses in the document as it stands now," Spanjich said. "We rallied a lot of support with the students, which I think will give the bill of rights more legitimacy as a referendum."
Students who attended the forum raised concerns about reductions in shuttle services on weekends, Public Safety and the "lack of due process" in the proposed document concerning JAMS-related issues, according to the minutes of the meeting.
Eleanor Clay, a freshman in the Kogod School of Business, said she believes Kerwin's administration should consider how to implement the policies the students' bill of rights calls for.
"I like the fact that students are putting forth things we feel need to be changed because they are directly affecting us," she said. "I'd like to think the administration would listen to parts of the bill of rights because their administrating should reflect what the students feel is important."
The committee met again yesterday to discuss changes to the proposed bill of rights based on student input from the Monday forum before the whole senate considers the bill Sunday. Among the changes were amendments to the document's section regarding health and safety, which now calls for "the right to accessible and quality on-campus health care" and "the right to request medical attention without disciplinary repercussions."
Vidulich, who will graduate this semester, said next year's SG must actively fight to secure the provisions of the Students' Bill of Rights.
"It should be the goal of every single SG to fight for these rights no matter who's in office," Vidulich said. "The students are saying what they expect from their government."
The referendum must pass by a two-thirds majority in order to go into effect, Spanjich said.
People will be able to view the version of the Students' Bill of Rights that could go on the referendum on the SG Web site after Sunday's senate meeting.
Students can attend the Senate meeting, scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Sunday, and can provide input before the senate votes on the bill.
