Lexington (MA) High School Senate

LEXINGTON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT-FACULTY SENATE

2002-2003

Moderator Muhammad Dhanani, Assistant Moderator Lawrence J. David, Secretary J.T. Scarry

<http://lhs.lexingtonma.org/senate>

Agenda

For the November 7, 2002 meeting

1. Announcements

2. Committee Reports

3. Lunch In The Hallways Bill

4. New Business

Minutes

From the October 31, 2002 meeting:

[Quorum reached, 7:51 AM]

[Minutes Approved, 7:52 AM]

[Questions raised about legitimacy of third item on the agenda, the Elected Office Limits Bill]

David: I move to amend the Agenda to include the item, Elected Office Limits Bill, after the Committee Reports.

[Amendment passes]

[Amended Agenda Approved, 7:54 AM]

Announcements

Girondel: Charlie Murphy will replace ex-Senator Fishman, who has resigned his position after he was elected president of his class.

Dhanani: Please help us again with tables today. Even if we adjourn at the bell, we will still need help putting them back in order.

Vachani: The School Council has not met this week.

Committee Reports

Halperin: The ad hoc committee met and continued to discuss the booth we plan on operating in the hall next week to spread the word about the forum. The booth will be set up next Wednesday. Please sign the sheet that is going around to let us know that you shall help lead the student discussion groups at the forum. Also, we made a flyer to put up around school.

Rehman: Oversight met. We discussed a way to set up a Student Activity Center between the commons as well as how we can find a way to set it up and get feedback on it.

Shield: Communications Committee met and discussed more ways to get out the word on Senate activities and the possible pros and cons of having homeroom surveys.

Gingrande: The Policy Committee met and discussed Senator Jehle's bill, as well role of student councils in bills.

Dhanani: The Executive Committee met with Dr. Seasholes. We discussed the poster issue. While Senate has tried to increase awareness of the guidelines for putting up posters, people still aren't getting it. We also talked about the Open Forum and the letter we shall send to the School Committee on the override issue.

Elected Office Limits Bill

Jehle: I think that the bill is fairly self-explanatory, just from the rationale. In the past and since I have been in the Senate, more than one person has had not just one office, but several offices. This has eliminated positions in which others could have served. This bill would give more opportunities to students to serve on the Senate and in their respective Class Councils.

Kafrissen: I am confused. One section of the bill says that students can run for two offices, while another implies that there is some sort of preference involved.

Girondel: This is not a "Student Senate" [as stated in the text of the bill]. Also, it doesn't deal with other positions, such as positions as class officers, for which one would need to run for Class Council anyway. I disagree for that reason. We do need more people to participate. The bill as written is confusing and not thorough enough.

Allison Burson: I have a question to clarify the intent of the bill. Can you be a Senator and one other position, a Class Councilor and one other position, just not both?

Jehle: The scope of this bill is limited to Student Senate and Class Council.

Finnegan: I understand the intent of the bill, and it is well intentioned to bring wide representation. I would say that the role of the Senate and that of the Class Council are, however, very different. The Council primarily concerns itself with the planning of social events. Here we have a different role, relating to the workings of the Senate. These are very different activities.

Bogart: I think that the way the bill is written has been clarified somewhat, but actually needs further clarification.

Ivria Fried: We need more diversity in the Senate. However, I don't think that this bill can change things. Moreover, it doesn't make sense that one can run for president but not serve on Senate.

Girondel: The elections procedure strongly encourages candidates to hold only one office. It has been stated and suggested, and in fact worked seeing that former Senator Fishman resigned his Senate seat. However, it is fairly rare to hold a high class office and a Senate seat simultaneously. Class Council is a minor job, why not let [students participate in] both? Probably, one should not be on Senate and be a class officer, but the way this bill is written I suggest that we not pass it and have the [Policy] Committee rethink and rewrite it.

Choi: The second sentence of this bill is confusing. Senator Kafrissen implied that one can run for two offices. I think that this bill may need to be rewritten.

Allison Burson: If we are going to discuss what bodies people should be on simultaneously, there is nothing related to the PAC and School Council representative. We should also include a separate election for at-large representatives.

Hsieh: I have mixed feeling on this bill. I am a Senator, and also the Treasurer of my class. I agree with Senator Finnegan that the two bodies do extremely different things. However, having an office is one thing and simply being a Class Councillor is another.

Kafrissen: No student may run for more than two elected positions, but then again they can run for two. I support the intent of the bill; there are large numbers of people acting as Class Councillors, but some Senators are here for four years and say nothing. Lots of students are just padding their resume for college applications. The elections really run on high name recognition, and exclude from service people who actually want to do the work. The intent is noble and I support the intent.

Richardson: As a participant in a free society, why pass a law limiting rights? If a student is popular, and if said student feels capable of holding both offices, why take away that right? If there are conflicts, it is up to the body to go through due process for censure, and it is up to individuals to resolve their own issues. I see no reason to do this.

David: I move to make the following amendment: Strike the word "no", capitalize the first letter of the next word, change "student" to "students", strike out "more than two" and substitute "both", change the period to a comma, add in the word "but", put the first letter of the next word in lower case, change "student" to "students", and add the word "their".

[Motion withdrawn]

Dhanani: I currently am on the Class Council and on Senate. One senator said that those serving on two positions do not speak, and lack any commitment to either body. I am committed; I always volunteer in Class Council, and at the same time a play a role in Senate. As long as none of the top four class officers are involved, this should not be an issue; the amount of time involved is not an issue, and the students who do wish to be politically active should be allowed to take advantage of both opportunities.

Bogart: Allison Burson touched on an issue; are there at-large positions available for representatives? For those from class council who are not represented, but who choose to be representatives to the Senate on their own?

Girondel: Anyone, can, of course, petition for a seat, but as each class has eight or nine senators already, and the Class Council represents the class, I don't think it could possibly qualify as a body. However, anyone can petition.

Bogart: I find the rationale about padding for college offensive. Although I'm sure there are some who pad their resumes, the presumption suggests that several Senators in deliberation with this body today are here simply to pad their resumes, making it a very cynical comment.

Collins: Other than the poor wording, the purpose the bill serves needs debate. The Senate is viewed just as a body that meets really early. The school has done a lot with METCO, but there are not many minorities represented here. For real change and real diversity you need to go out and tell people.

Lubershane: Are there any existing restrictions?

Girondel: Only that one may not serve on the Senate and the Board of Appeals simultaneously.

David: As we are discussing the merits of the bill and not ways to fix it, I suggest that the bill either be amended or tabled.

Allison Burson: The idea of having a more diverse body is very good, but limiting what positions can be held simply is not fair. At this time running for Senate is all about name recognition. No one reads the posted paragraphs, so the campaigns are all about who has cooler signs. Assemblies are hard to do but it would be far better if people could introduce themselves to their class.

Vachani: I agree about the intent of the bill being good-trying to maximize diversit, and giving opportunities to hold office-but I do not support it for three reasons. I don't think that we should be eliminating having two offices, as in freshman elections there are frequently not enough people running anyway, even if Senators have two positions. Regarding what Senator Richardson said, if we exclude then we are subverting representation. Finally, senators have said that people are less interested in their positions if they hold more than one, but the root of the disinterest is not the dual positions.

Girondel: I agree with Allison Burson about the assembly idea, but few would run if they knew that they had to go before their entire class; some candidates first check to make sure that they will not have to do so. Such a forum would be a valuable experience. We should work to get a more diverse population to serve. When this bill gets rewritten, let that be part of the suggestions.

Enders: I move that we send this back to committee. I think that the ideas are strong, but right now we have a very weak bill. Once it is rewritten, we can continue to have a great discussion.

Shield: I was going to add that if you participate in music, you can do band and jazz, and no one will stop you or question your motives. This motion is unnecessary, as the committee should review the merits of the bill altogether.

Vachani: I don't think we should send it back yet. I don't support the bill, but I do support the idea of having more diversity, so we should discuss the merits of the bill here first, and whether we support it.

[Motion passes 25-12, Elected Office Limits Bill sent back to the Policy Committee]

Bogart: I move to end discussion.

[Motion to end discussion passes]

Bogart: I move to adjourn.

[Motion passes]

[Senate adjourns]

List of Senators Absent from the October 24, 2002 Meeting

Senator Catsouphes Senator Inouye Senator Ludwig

Senator Park Senator Zagaeski

Senator Turner Senator Vogelzang