Should FUSA senators be able to evaluate and question student judges before approving them?
In the weekly FUSA Senate meeting Sunday night, Senate Chair Tim Rich ’08 asked the Senate to approve four justices for the Student Court. The justices were listed on the agenda sheet and included Fiona Camilleri ’09, Samuel Sica ’09, Denis Walsh ’09 and Christopher Bernard ’10.
Sen. Dan Lamendola ’09 said he felt that the voting process was abrupt.
“We should have more time to be made aware of who these people are,” he said.
Lamendola said he does not doubt that the judges are qualified but is trying to maintain integrity in his vote.
He also asked, “Were the judges already sworn in?”
FUSA Vice President John Daly ’08 answered by saying that the associate judges were indeed sworn in but the “ceremony was more of a pledge.”
Senate Vice Chair Ashley Close ’08 told the Senate that the judges have been approved by both the dean’s office and a search committee.
“It would be offensive if we went against their word,” said Close.
Sen. Rob Fitzgerald ’08 disagreed.
“If we take what other people say at face value then wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of voting on it?” he asked.
Sen. Chris Steele ’08 disagreed with the process, calling it “blindly approving” the nominees.
Sen. Jamie Abromaitis ’09 asked for Ally Ghiorzi ’09 to appear at the next meeting. The motion was tabled and will be pushed to a later meeting.
Among other issues, the Senate discussed the off-campus housing lottery. Abromaitis, co-chair of student life, said the issue was a “hot topic.” At the end of the meeting, the Senate assembled a number of questions for Vice President for Student Affairs Mark Reed, who is to receive a letter written by Rich this month.
Rich also read a prepared statement, of which he said he would not disclose the source, regarding the firing of an RA in Gonzaga. The statement said that a student was fired for being intoxicated but also mentioned that she was of legal age.
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