Monday, 8/4/97 No quorum; discussion delayed MEETINGS:
By Frances Lee Daily Bruin Senior Staff With the top three
executives absent, the undergraduate student council barely made
its quorum of nine during their meeting last week. With President
Kandea Mosley absent due to a "prior family commitment," Internal
Vice-President Carol Lee gone because of a "personal emergency,"
and External Vice-President Stacy Lee away at a conference, nine
other members managed to attend the meeting. However,
two-and-a-half hours into a heated discussion over whether or not
the council should approve a pay increase for themselves, someone
noticed General Representative Joe Medico had left the room,
breaking quorum. Half an hour later, when he hadn’t returned, the
council adjourned, tabling the item until next week and further
delaying the budget process. An angry Robert Rhoan, chair of the
finance committee, harshly criticized the council member, noting
that Medico had crossed his name off the attendance sheet before he
left. "It’s a corrupt and divisive tactic (for) people to walk out
and break quorum to further their own political ambitions," he
said. "Important decisions have to be made." Medico could not be
reached for comment. Cultural Affairs Commissioner Mike Hamilton
also criticized the council for not making quorum for important
budget decisions, although he refrained from attacking Medico.
"It’s important that the council sticks together," he said. Other
members noted that the stipend discussion would have to be
reiterated for members who had missed last week’s meeting. Since
Medico also sits on the budget review committee, it is unlikely
that the council will approve a budget this Tuesday. During the
school year, nine members make quorum. At the last meeting of the
year, the council normally sets a lower quorum for the summer. This
year the council missed the deadline for setting summer quorum.
Previous Daily Bruin Story: Undergrad government hears ASUCLA
report on loss