Haley Talmage, the chair of the Conduct Board, attended the meeting to propose a new system regarding the election process of justices on both the Honor and Conduct Boards. The proposal had been previously discussed last week.
Talmage stated the constitution would outline that the chairs would solicit both board applications during the time that SGA elections are taking place and set a deadline for the end of the SGA elections.
Once applications have been received, both Honor and Conduct Boards would formally invite those qualified students for an interview. Those who would be present during the interview will include the Honor Board Chair, the Conduct Board Chair and the SGA President who would together serve as a tri-council. The Student Conduct staff would also be present to act as advisors but would not have a say in the voting carried out by the tri-council.
Senator Mark Barham inquired if the tri-council would seek a unanimous vote or a majority rules vote because of only three students having a vote.
President Constance Garner reassured the majority of a two/three vote would accept the applicant as a justice.
Senator Taylor Inge proposed that rather than eliminating the democratic process entirely, students and staff nominate students to serve as justices on the Board, and then they would have an interview with the tri-council to decide who would best fit the roles.
Senator Hunter Schmitz, who is a current member of the Honor Board, stressed the need for change and felt this proposed election process is fair. Schmitz emphasized the current issues surrounding the process include both favoritism as well as students not knowing the person they are voting for.
Senator Jason Dryer, a current member of the Conduct Board, disagreed entirely with the idea given that he had not seen the problem in the past and felt the democratic aspect still needs to be in place.
Senator Shawn White proposed the idea to survey the student body to see what kind of process they would like to see.
The SGA did not approve the constitution of the Honor and Conduct Boards to change their election process.
The SGA voiced strong concerns with the USA Today app previously solicited in last week’s meeting titled “The Buzz.” In order to purchase the app, Longwood would need to eliminate two current locations, which host three newspapers, still keeping the locations in Dorrill Dining Hall and Greenwood Library.
The initial $9,000 which will be necessary to purchase the app would be funds which are used to supply the two locations which were proposed to be eliminated. After the first year, the initial amount will increase by $3,000 totaling to $11,000, which would dip into funds that are currently not being used.
SGA did not pass the motion to purchase the app, “The Buzz.”
The motion passed to approve the constitution of the Longwood University Global Leaders. The organization works with assisting current international students and works directly with the Office of International Affairs on a volunteer basis.
The SGA approved the constitution of the Longwood Exercise Science Association, which works to further exercise science students beyond the classroom.
