SA Meeting Minutes
The following were noted at the meeting of the Student Association on Feb. 17.
The following were noted at the meeting of the Student Association on Feb. 17.
- SA President Yoonjin Min said the next Student Senate meeting will include the SA’s Year in Review.
- SA Secretary Nathan Andrus said the SA received an email from an alumnus on Sunday claiming that alumni were able to access the General Elections ballot. The SA was, however, able to determine from the list of voters’ NetIDs the number of ineligible voters who cast a ballot. Andrus said the SA hopes to avoid rerunning elections that were unaffected.
- Andrus announced that a challenge to the election results had been filed with the University Court. The SA is awaiting instructions from UCourt as to how to proceed.
- SA Parliamentarian Brian Baran said there is currently no procedure in the constitution or bylaws to govern UCourt’s resolution of the challenge. Baran recommended that the Senate agree to instruct UCourt to follow the procedures in the proposed new constitution that has been ratified by the Senate but is awaiting ratification in the election under challenge. The Senate voted unanimously to adopt that recommendation.
- Min said the SA currently does not know the timeframe of a new election if UCourt finds that all or part of the election needs to be rerun, but said the SA hopes to merge such an election, if necessary, with the special election for internal vice president.
- The Senate adjourned to a closed meeting to select the recipient of the Mentor Recognition Award for the 2013-14 academic year.
The SA will next meet Monday, Feb. 24 in Farnsworth Pavilion at 9 p.m.
Correction: The fifth bullet point in last week’s SA Minutes should have read “Parliamentarian Brian Baran discussed reducing the mandatory waiting period between the deadline for submitting petitions for the second-round election and the opening of the polls for the second-round election from 14 days to seven days.” The Thresher apologizes for this mistake.
More from The Rice Thresher
Rice accepts 13% of record-setting ED applications
Rice accepted 13.2% of Early Decision applicants in its first round of admissions for the class of 2029, said Yvonne Romero da Silva, vice president for enrollment. With 2,970 total applicants, this year saw yet another record-high; a 3% increase from last year’s previous high of 2,886. An additional 100 students gained admission through the Questbridge National College Match program, an uptick from last year’s 77.
Students reject divestment proposals
The student body voted to pass S.REF 01, which asks the Rice Management Company to disclose all of its holdings investments, but rejected the remaining divestment proposals. While every ballot measure gained a majority of votes in favor, the remaining three did not achieve the two-thirds majority required to pass.
Student organizations form coalition to support SA referenda
Four Student Association referenda open for the general student body vote today at noon. The referenda call for disclosure of Rice Management Company holdings and divestment from entities that profit off the Israel-Hamas war. The referenda also ask that Rice release a statement condemning genocide and materially support anti-colonial scholarship. Voting will close Dec. 11 at noon and the results will be published the next day. For the referenda to pass, a two-thirds majority with a 20% student body turnout is needed.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.