The Student Senate met Wednesday for the first time in the new semester. The meeting began with a heated debate on whether Student Senate President Jamie Plummer, a senior studying polymer and color chemistry, appropriately selected appointees for empty Student Senate seats.
Former Student Senate President Cody Long, a senior studying political science, was chief among those critics.
“I don’t think that the new appointment process equally takes everyone into consideration,” Long said. “I would like a bipartisan, nonbiased committee. I ask for more due process and oversight.”
Long was critical of the way Plummer selected applicants. He said that previously, a Senate committee viewed and approved the applications. Recently, Plummer changed the rules to expedite the process by going through the applications herself.
Plummer responded that all applicants were considered equally, and her way of reviewing applications was unbiased and correctly done.
“Two separate [former] Senate presidents told me that this application process was allowed under the rules,” Plummer said. “I considered each application.”
Ultimately, the Senators voted down a motion to postpone appointments in a 16-16 tie, with Plummer casting the tie vote, but the motion was reconsidered just minutes later, despite 23 senators voting against reconsideration of the motion. After more deliberation on the matter, the motion failed with a resounding majority of senators in opposition.
A separate appointment was for Sean Harrington, a junior studying political science and chairman of College Republicans, to obtain the position of assistant treasurer. This is an unpaid position with the aim of helping the Student Body Treasurer Daniel Harper, a senior studying mathematics, with his duties.
“I’ve served on my local town government for four years,” Harrington said. “I have a lot of experience with town budgeting and finance.”
A question was asked about how important diversity in Student Government is to Harrington.
“I understand what the label of being a Republican is,” Harrington said. “Diversity is important to me.”
After receiving much praise from members of the Student Senate, Harrington was unanimously confirmed.
The other item up for debate was Resolution 70, or the Oppose Accreditation Risk Act. This resolution was a response to the recent actions of the North Carolina General Assembly to strip powers from incoming Gov. Roy Cooper.
One of these powers, the ability to appoint members of the UNC System’s Board of Trustees was the focus of Resolution 70.
Student Body President Paul Nolan, a senior studying material science and engineering, was in support of the resolution.
“To be accredited, universities must be free from undue political influence,” Nolan said. “The North Carolina General Assembly compromised our accreditation by politically influencing the Board of Trustees.”
Not all of the senators felt the same way. Sam Potter, a senior studying political science, was in opposition to the resolution.
“Whether it’s the governor or the General Assembly, it will always be under the government, so it will be politically influenced,” Potter said. “The General Assembly has had this power since the North Carolina Constitution was passed.”
Nolan was in contact with the student body president of the University of Louisville, which has recently been placed on accreditation probation due to political influence. He was worried that with the recent General Assembly session, we might follow down the same path and lose accreditation.
“It is not up to us, as a body representing NC State, to say that we disagree with the politics of the General Assembly,” Potter disagreed. “We are not in danger of losing our accreditation.”
The measure was ultimately passed, 35-11.
