Senate to look at variety of bills

The Student Senate Wednesday will consider eight pieces of legislation at its meeting tonight, ranging from a recommendation to end parental notification by the university for policy violations to a bill that would require training for all student executive candidates.

The Senate will meet at 7 p.m. in the Arcola/Tuscola Room of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Senate members will vote on a resolution that recommends that parental notification of disciplinary action taken against students be stopped.

University Housing’s current policy states that parents of students under the age of 21 who are financially dependent on their guardians will be notified by the university of certain disciplinary actions taken upon that student.

The resolution recommends that the guardians of students 18 years or older should not be notified since the students are legally considered adults and are responsible for their own actions.

Senate members also will vote on a bylaw change that would only reimburse executives for 12 credit hours.

Currently, executive officers, including the speaker of the senate, student body president, and four student vice-presidents, receive a waiver for most of their tuition cost, regardless of the number of hours taken.

However, Weyhaupt, co-sponsor of the proposed change said that all current executive members are juniors and seniors who pay a flat tuition rate.

When current freshmen and sophomores, who pay by the credit hour, are elected, he said, the compensation would start to vary by each executive.

“If one takes 18 credit hours and another takes 12, that’s a difference of about $600,” Weyhaupt said. “That’s a discrepancy that needs to be fixed.”

In other business, Senate members will vote on a new bill regarding student executives. Under the new bill, Student Body President Katie Cox said students who currently hold an executive position would be allowed to run for a senate seat during this election.

Right now, Weyhaupt said, each executive’s term ends in July, thus prohibiting them from running in the April elections.

Weyhaupt said he was not aware of any particular case in which an executive who wanted to run for senate was denied a candidacy but said it could happen.

The bill would mandate that all candidates for executive positions must attend an informational session organized by the student body president before they could be eligible for the position.

Another piece of legislation co-sponsored by Weyhaupt and Cox is a resolution regarding a recent controversy at Governor’s State University.

In June of 1997, Governor’s State, located in University Park, a south suburb of Chicago, authorized a master’s program in social work. However, the program failed to receive accreditation from the Council on Social Work Education. As a result, 77 students have graduated the program only to find that they were not allowed to take the state examination to become a certified social worker, Weyhaupt said.

The resolution supports a bill introduced by State Sen. Patrick O’Malley allowing the students to take the exam.

Weyhaupt said it was important to take a stand for the students.

“(This situation) could have just as easily have happened to Eastern Illinois students,” he said.

A bylaw change concerning the rider/roommate board also will be introduced.

The rider/roommate board, which allows students looking for new roommates or rides to various cities to post flyers, wasn’t being used really well in its former location by the food court, Weyhaupt said.

The bill would allocate $150 towards promoting the new board, located near the First Mid-Illinois Bank branch in the martin Luther King Jr. University Union. The bylaw change would give the senate’s housing committee the job of monitoring, publicizing and updating the board.

The senate will vote on a resolution recommending that student groups be allowed to register with campus scheduling to set up informational tables in all academic buildings.

Another new resolution recommends that the Panther Express shuttle bus, shut down since March 9, resume service to several on and off-campus locations.