I’ve been away from the blog for a little while because we’ve had a very sensitive couple weeks in our Hatchet coverage. I apologize to my blog enthusiasts, but i’m glad to see the comments are still coming and an ongoing discussion is going on among the blog’s readers.
Some interesting things to point out:
-We have not heard a verdict in the Shakour case yet. I have heard a lot of rumors about what is going on, nothing definitive, however. The Hatchet originally reported that a decision would be rendered within 5 business days and since the hearing was Friday the 18th, five business days would have been today, the 29th. A decision may have come down and we haven’t heard about it, or maybe Shakour is appealing a decision, maybe the decision is taking longer than expected to be decided. Any number of factors could explain no verdict yet.
One question is how the verdict will be announced, or if it will be announced. Shakour has admitted to be facing charges of sexual harassment and the recomended sanction for that charge is disciplinary probation. Although, a senior University official told me that an even lesser charge could be given out other than probation, like censure, but that rarely happens. If Shakour, and this if a major if, is put on disciplinary probation, SA guidelines would make him ineligible to continue being SA President.
Eligibility checks are done once per semester by the Student Activities Center and the constitution only gives the SA President the power to call for an eligibility check. So in effect, Shakour may be the only one who can call for a check of himself to be elligible to be President.
-Another interesting note. The colonial coach shuttle premiered last week and I used the service to get to Dulles airport. It worked well, other than the 34 minute delay of the 1 p.m. Tuesday bus because of malfunctions of the bus service.
The service did not, however, provide transportation BACK to campus on Sunday and Monday when most students who took the shuttle to Dulles flew back. Morgan Corr has told me legal contracts with Dulles and other taxi services don’t allow round trip shuttles to operate, only one ways. Rumors are floating that the service may be expanded for winter break, possibly more shuttles or maybe even service to Baltimore/Washington International Airport.
-SA Election Wednesday and Thursday. Students will have an opporutuntity to vote on a new SA constitution on this week, check out our article outlining the changes the new constitution would bring. Student Body to Vote on Changes to the Constitution
-And lastly… a “secret society” on campus distributed flyers early Tuesday morning claiming the SA had been abolished. By Monday many of the flyers had been taken down, I spoke with some members of the society who admitted it was a prank.
Overall, the next couple days should be very interesting in the SA. Voting on a new constitution this week and a verdict in the Shakour case in the near future.
I’ve had an informal question proposed to me about what a yes or no vote means in Wednesday and Thursday’s election.
A yes vote would be a vote in favor of ratifying the new constitution. A yes vote would put in place changes to the structure of the constitution, the roles of the EVP and the student court. In short, a yes vote would be supporting the election of the EVP not by popular student vote but from within the senate. a yes vote would also be supporting the elimination of the Joint Elections committee and give oversight power of the election to the senate and the student court. A yes vote would also increase the number of students on the court from 5 to 7 and create an appeals process in the court. Some other minor changes like thrershold for elections are also included, like aforementioned, read the article Jenette wrote for more details on the changes.
A No vote would be to keep the current constitution and make no changes to the SA’s governing documents.
Does anyone actually think Mr. Shakour, if he’s found in violation of a section of the Code and the University imposes a sanction of disciplinary probation (the most prominent rumor making the rounds), wouldn’t resign the office he becomes ineligible to hold?
If Mr. Shakour doesn’t resign after DP, he would be in non-compliance with a “resonable [directive] of representatives of the Office of Student Judicial Services, acting in performance of their duties.” He could easily be charged and found in violation of the non-compliance section of the Code (Article 11, Section n). And, as we know from Article 12(b), “any other violation of this Code during the period of probation will normally result in suspension or expulsion from the University.”
Analyze the situation from Mr. Shakour’s perspective….does anyone think that he would risk suspension from the University just to hang onto the power of SA President for an additional few days?
Where had “President” Shakour been these past few weeks? We have yet to hear anything about the Colonial Trader website which was promised by last Wednesday. Any other news from him?
No…
dont’ forget to vote no today! vote no cha cha cha vote no cha cha cha
rumour has it that the referendum is losing 100 to 1
Actually, Brandon is wrong about the new role of the EVP. The new constitution splits the current role of the EVP into two parts. The senate will have the ability to select their own chair person to run their meetings. The EVP will still be elected by a popular student vote but candidates must run on a joint ticket with a presidential candidate. The new EVP will not be responcible for senate meetings. Instead, he or she will work closely with the Executive Branch.
where’s the exit polling for this referendum? an inside source told me its not doing well