Ask your senators for equal opportunity

submitted by jackleg on Thursday, September 20 2001 at 6:46 PM

You may or may not know this, but not just anyone can run for student government, or serve on the judicial board. You must be a "student in good standing" in order to qualify. Those students who have been placed on academic or disciplinary probation/suspension are NOT eligible to serve their fellow students. An infraction as small as an alcohol posession ticket could make you ineligible to run. Government Bill 33, which was recently introduced into the student senate, seeks to change this injustice. It allows for the student in question to become "eligible to serve within any ranks of Student Government" one semester after being put on academic or disciplinary probation. Please, do us all a big favor and email your senators and let them know that you support this bill, and that we need to stop alienating those students with academic or disciplinary violations in their past.

posted by Joe on Thursday, September 20 2001 at 7:58 PM

I find this funny because we are talking people who represent the students who may not be in good university standing on certain issues. What if we needed an objective voice on maybe academic prbation or etc....Why dont we have drug tests, and an IQ requirement as well, and why not have them take an aptitude test as well. Wouldnt it be nice to have someone who has been on probation and worked their way back into good standing ON STUDENT GOVERNMENT. My old suitemate wasnt allowed to run for sbp b/x of some of the same issues. With the student government doing so well with PR i think it woud behoov them to address the latest barrier standing in the way of them and the students. Until this issue is resolved or better yet addressed, I have no problem calling student government a bunch of scholar brats....yeah its a strong statement but they leave plenty room for it to be made. I am friends with a lot of student gov people and I hope they realize the extreme wrongness of the current system. It at least deserves a strong look.

9/20/2001 8:08:11 PM

by the way...I am not an idiot...I know anyone can submit a story for the front page...just in case anyone was unclear about that.

9/20/2001 9:04:30 PM

Haha, just let it go!

9/20/2001 9:48:16 PM

Stop doing stupid shit and you won't have to worry about it.

9/20/2001 11:06:46 PM

Hell yeah travis, you got a story on the front page!

9/21/2001 7:43:36 AM

damn, i'm ineligible.

*yawn*

9/21/2001 8:39:32 AM

As I said in the thread in the lounge, the Student Body President is governed by a different code than other elected members of Student Government, as he is a voting member of the Board of Trustees. Hence, even if GB 33 were to pass, the stipulations concerning the SBP race would not be effected. Thus, the situation that Satch's suite mate was in wouldn't change. Check the thread in the lounge for my suggestion about how to fix the problem.

The call to represent students is out there, whether you're in good standing or not...if you want to help, there are positions for you in Student Government. If you want to wait around with your hands in your pocket until you're eligible for an office, then you get what you deserve.

9/21/2001 5:03:57 PM

Quote :

"I have no problem calling student government a bunch of scholar brats"

Then I would have no problem calling you misinformed.

9/21/2001 5:04:42 PM

There are consequences for what you do. I hate uttering that cliche (there's your favorite word, evilbob! ), but it appears I need to in order to illustrate my point. Do you think one should be able to do as he/she pleases without negative sanctions of any kind? You'd be lucky to stay enrolled. We are not alienating naughty students. We're punishing them for their transgressions. I think that one quality of a senator should be that he or she behaves well and conducts him/herself in a positive manner. This is not to say student senators should be strict Puritans. They should just use common sense. Too bad the United States government doesn't consider all this.

I know some people in support of jackleg's proposal, maybe even jackleg himself (though I doubt it since he's a level-minded guy) will flame me for my views, but fuck it. I don't care, by golly! Flame-broil me like the evil man I am!

[Edited on September 21, 2001 at 6:24 PM. Reason : kibbles n' bits n' bits n' bits]

9/21/2001 6:19:33 PM

Chia, I agree with you to an extent. There should be consequences for wrongful actions, but I believe in reprieve for rehabilitated students just as strongly as I believe their should be reprieve for rehabilitated prisoners.

Quote :

"This is not to say student senators should be strict Puritans."

Whew! Good.

9/21/2001 7:28:11 PM

Rehabilitated students, I agree with. Maybe I'm just misunderstanding jackleg. But students who are not in good standing should be excluded.

9/21/2001 7:34:17 PM

Quote :

"I know some people in support of jackleg's proposal, maybe even jackleg himself (though I doubt it since he's a level-minded guy) will flame me for my views, but fuck it. I don't care, by golly! Flame-broil me like the evil man I am! "

level-minded

i'm not gonna flame you, i'm just gonna call you an elitist...

9/21/2001 7:36:47 PM

But once you are placed on academic probation- You remain on it until you graduate- there is no chance for you to serve your students. Remember Bryan Profitt? Didnt he graduate Phi Beta Kappa (?) and won the NCSU leadership award last year?

9/21/2001 7:48:55 PM

Well then if that's the case then maybe SG should have a different policy regarding behavior of candidates and members. Like have it be for a semester or two.

9/21/2001 7:55:49 PM

As I commented in the lounge, I would support the idea that students could have a second chance at student government. I could write a ton on this subject from my experience through j-board b/c its complicated, but I'll try and keep it short . JBoard gives out both academic and disciplinary probations to students, and the length is VARIABLE depending on what the student did--they could just be on it for one semester. However, some of the probations are in place for the students' entire academic career--for ex.,anyone who is found guilty of ANY academic cheating violation will be on probation their entire career, as are students who are found guilty of drug violations and other serious violations. I would support a chance for students who have rehabilitated to be able to be involved again---maybe there should be a process after a certain length of time (say a semester or year) where the student could appeal to have their probation removed for the purpose of serving. Basically all probation really means is that if the student messes up again within that time frame, consequences will be a lot more serious next time. For people who have been suspended, they have committed very serious violations (and most of the time more than one) and I don't think they should get that same chance.

9/21/2001 8:04:08 PM

do they ever remove indefinite probations?

9/22/2001 11:14:12 AM

Why do you think they call them indefinite?

9/25/2001 6:20:24 PM

GO TO HELL CAROLINA

9/28/2001 8:50:06 PM