Academic Assembly, SARB look to future

The Undergraduate Student Government Senate Appointments Review Board concluded its investigation of the USG Academic Assembly with a positive look toward the future Tuesday night.

SARB Chair Kendra Ciesla presented eight points she and assembly President Justin Sobota agreed on to improve the legislative branch. The legislative branch did not have enough members to hold an official meeting throughout the entire Fall Semester.

"This is just a way to get them back on their feet," said town Senator Brian Heller, who helped Ciesla with the investigation.

One of the main problems SARB discovered with the assembly was that the academic college councils, whose vice presidents and faculty senators compose the assembly, did not know the assembly existed. It will try to convince the councils to include the assembly in their constitutions so continuity will exist over the years.

"Academic Assembly is secondary. (The members) don't have the time to devote simply because they ran for vice president or (University) faculty senator, not Academic Assembly representative," Ciesla said.

SARB sought to lessen the burden on the assembly by creating a funnel system, which would allow the assembly to work with the senate to complete some of their goals through legislation.

"Academic Assembly would be more of a planning, discussing session to air out issue and problems," said fraternity Senator Matt Ritsko, who developed the plan.

Communication between the senate and the assembly, as well as with the other branches of USG, was emphasized in the plan. A suggestion for weekly meetings among the senate president, assembly president, USG president and the Supreme Court chief justice was included in the plan.

"We feel it is very important for at least the senate president and Academic Assembly president to meet once a week to iron out any problems, such as no quorum for (a long time)," Ciesla said.

For next year, the senate hopes to have the assembly lay out goals for the term and to transition the new members, especially the president, better than in the past.

A team composed of senators, assembly members and possible representatives from the court and the executive branch would work to put the plans into action.