The undergraduate student government approved bylaw changes pertaining to office space allocation Tuesday, adopting changes made by previous councils that had yet to be officially updated.
The ratification likely closes the Office Space Allocation Committee bylaw issue, which surfaced when Facilities Commissioner, Galen Roth, proposed bylaw changes but was hampered by the out-of-date governing document last updated in 2005.
To address potential conflicts with the bylaws, Student Union Director Roy Champawat reviewed agendas and minutes of previous years councils and recorded any OSAC bylaw changes ““ which require a two-thirds vote – toward an up-to-date point of reference for Roth’s and future council changes.
On Monday, the bipartisan Constitutional Review Committee unanimously approved Champawat’s findings and presented the recommendations to the Undergraduate Students Association Council which recognized the bylaws.
Furthermore, a stipulation noting the process of how the new bylaws were discovered was added for historical purposes.
Internal Vice President, Evan Shulman, chair of the CRC, said the new bylaws were both fair and accurate in reflecting office space allocations.
“The documents that Roy submitted are accurate as reviewed through previous councils’ minutes,” Shulman said.
The revisions, found in Article IV, Section E of the bylaws, included a confirmation that OSAC is an independent committee composed of students and not council members, as has been OSAC’s procedure these past three years. Other changes include student eligibility requirements and clarification of the appointment process.
Non-OSAC-related bylaws, which comprised the majority of the eight-article bylaw documents remain outdated. However, the new OSAC changes set a precedent for further changes that will be addressed, Shulman said.
The scrutiny over bylaws was sparked when Roth suggested bylaw changes citing inefficiencies of the OSAC process. Changes were imperative for stability and transparency in office space allocations, Roth said.
However, during the Oct. 14 USAC meeting, the council agreed that any bylaw changes were moot without up-to-date bylaws.
The document presented by Champwat the following week confirmed that some of the changes Roth attempted were already made.
“Most of the changes were actually things that I along with CRC was already proposing to change,” Roth said. “I’m really happy to see that past councils already established that.”
With the OSAC bylaw issue likely addressed, the bylaw document as a whole will be under a similar vetting process, said Champwat.
Student Support Services, which offers administrative support to USAC, will work with the council to put the new OSAC bylaws online and update the existing document by the end of the quarter.
“We have to make sure we don’t interfere with the (Judicial) Board case,” Champwat said. “I don’t expect it to take too much longer. But then again I have to follow the scheduling process of the committees and the councils.”
Roth is currently under investigation by the Student Judicial Board for allegedly violating the nonpartisan stance of OSAC by submitting the changes. She has denied all allegations.
Shulman said the stipulation added during Tuesday’s approval is to prevent the issue of outdated bylaws from resurfacing in the future. He also presented to council a new form to streamline communication between USAC and Student Support Services on further bylaw changes.
Roth wants further bylaw changes, including a stipulation that OSAC will look for office spaces outside of Kerckhoff Hall. Council will vote on those changes next week.