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Meeting Minutes

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Agenda

  1. Call to Order

 

  1. Roll Call:  Not present – Annamarie Holmes, Lauren Lefton, Lisa Levy, Kelly Swaine, James Kurnik, Ngozi Nwaesei, Benjamin Malbasa, Newt Schaefer
  1. Accepting or Amending of the Agenda
    1. Move to amend agenda to add election procedures.
    2. Add retreat committee to reports.
    3. Add sports committee.
    4. Add alumni.
    5. Add budget request for NLG speaker fund.
    6. Amend committee that was formed last time by Kringel.
    7. Motion to accept amended agenda.
      1. Passes.

 

  1. Accepting or Amending of the Minutes - none
  1. Officers Reports
    1. President’s Report
      1. Docket article published outlining SBA’s goals.
      2. Wrote similar article for InBrief magazine to be published in March.
      3. Thank you card from 3L senator for SBA’s concern and flowers.
      4. SBA open forum was pretty poorly attended by student body.  Only 7 individuals outside of SBA came.  The people that did come did provide great feedback.  Will try to do another forum in March.
    2. Vice-President’s Report
      1. Senator Goals summary will be published in the upcoming docket.  If you have not submitted what your goals as a senator are for the upcoming semester, please email them to VP asap.
      2. Lexis Nexis Faculty Student Event – Monday Feb 27th: Public Interest
    3. Secretary’s Report
    4. Treasurer’s Report
      1. Account balances of all student organizations.
      2. Copies of account balances will be available in the SBA office for review.
        1. Pres. Mortenson – can we have student orgs, who have spent nothing, to come in and explain their spendings?
        2. Senator Zink – Just because they haven’t spent the money doesn’t mean they haven’t.  Having them come in will just take up more time and make SBA meetings even longer.
        3. Tres. McLaughlin – Some student orgs have put on speaker fund programs that don’t drain their budgets.
      3. We have a little over $12000, but the SBA has not rec’d its second semester check yet.  Once we get the check, we should have another $20,000.  Last year the refund check to SBA took so long to process, it was not rec’d till April.  It should not take 3-4 months to get a refund check from the administration.
    5. Senate Counsel’s Report
      1. Introducing amendment (to be voted on next time) – cosmetic changes should be made easier by simple mention to SC Neely.
      2. www.robertrules.com.  Friendly amendments – Once a proposal has been seconded and is on the floor, it’s the property of the senate as a whole.  There is no such thing as a friendly amendment.  Calling to question – you have to vote on this, it does not immediately stop debate.  Tabling – if you want to move something to the next meeting you have to postpone motion to another time.

 

  1. Committee Reports
    1. Admissions
      1. Senator Samtoy met with Chris Lucak back in October.  Nothing came of the meeting.
      2. Senator Samtoy is still trying to set up a meeting with Mr. Lucak.
    2. Alumni
      1. Will meet after the SBA meeting.
      2. Need to submit a proposal to the development office about starting the young alumni committee.
    3. Building and Grounds
      1. New microwave. 
      2. Trying to get two more microwaves.
    4. CSO
      1. Two career planning events coming up. 
      2. First one is on Tues Feb 28th, CSO open forum. 
      3. Second is Tues Feb 21st, panel of 2Ls discussing 1L summer jobs.
    5. Commencement - “untapped”
    6. Community Service
      1. Sing for the cure on March 9th. 
      2. Ronald McDonald house in early April.
    7. Curriculm
      1. New Courses were approved. 
      2. Goals of the committee for this semester -> Update course description packet.  Add course descriptions for U Ontario sister law school.  Analyze curve, class size, and grade transparency.  Increase student involvement.  Trying to set date for dean’s forum (topic is how to recover from first semester grades).  Framework for adjunct review.
    8. Honor Code
      1. Continuing a complete draft of honor code. 
      2. Issues to deal with – confidentiality, should the honor court be done away with?
      3. Annual report of offenses.
      4. Meeting weekly with Prof. McMunigal.
    9. Student Life 
      1. Trying to combine more events with other professional schools and other law schools.
      2. Possible fundraiser on March 2nd for law students going to Louisiana.
      3. Bar Review at Jillians this week.
    10. SBA Retreat
      1. Lack of snow and distance is making a ski trip hard.
      2. Senator Falcone has been looking into paintball.
    11. Sports
      1. Planning a Basketball tournament. 
      2. Planning a Softball tournament – Jesse Cantrell has volunteered to help out with this.  About $250 out of pocket spent by Cantrell last year.
  1. Subcommittee Reports - none

 

  1. Old Business
    1. Constitutional and Bylaw Amendments Offered by Senators Samtoy and Arnold
      1. **All proposed changes are on file with SC Neely.  Please email ktn1@case.edu if you would like further details.
      2. Ad hoc committee formed last week presents recommendation.  Presented by SC Neely. 
      3. Amendment 0-4 was redundant.
      4. Amendments 1, 3, 8, 9, 11 – house keeping maintenance issues.
      5. Am 2 is a major substantive change.  There was a major split here.  The idea is to give 1L senators the ability to work on schedule for meetings.  The split came whether this process should be completely changed or addressed in a better fashion.  It’s ambiguous how meeting will be scheduled before the 1L senators are elected.
      6. 6 – redundant.  If this is passed, it makes sense to pass 5 and 7.  Cleaning up this is a good thing.  6 really cleans it up.  5 and 7 could be housekeeping b/c they are just pointing to a reference.
      7. 10 – Substantive change.  Committee does not have recommendation b/c split in decision.  Proposal is to remove it.  Half of the review committee thought this would put check on treasurer.  The other half though it was unnecessary b/c it doesn’t happen in practice.
      8. 12 is constitutional amendment so no discussion.
      9. 15, 16 – will not be discussed.
      10. Recommendation
        1. House keeping motions will be done all at once.
        2. Deal with substantive changes with how senate wants to consider them.
      11. Motion to accept 1, 3,5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11
        1. Call to question – pass.  Move to accept – pass.
      12. Senator Schmitt motion to accept Amendment 2.
        1. Senator Kringel – this change makes it more complicated than necessary.
        2. Senator Samtoy – disagrees b/c you don’t know which 1L senators will be elected and what their schedules will be.
        3. Senator Ryan – also thinks this change makes it more complicated because 1L classes are easy to schedule around.
        4. SC Neely – more complicated than necessary.  Doesn’t think this will solve the problem.
        5. Nay’s have it – motion fails.
      13. Senator Ryan motion to accept amendment 10.
        1. Call to question - pass
        2. Nay’s have it – motion fails.
    2. LRAP resolution offered by Senator Tsai, Senator Ryan and VP Choy
      1. Senator Ryan – if this resolution is passed, how will it be distributed to the ABA?  There is an online repository.
      2. VP Choy – The goal is to get all 191 schools to sign on.  Four schools in the 6th Cir have already signed on, U Akron, Capital, Toledo and Ohio State.  Case currently has an LRAP program but it lacks sufficient funding.  Passing this resolution will help the ABA leverage their position in Washington.
      3. Senator Ryan – move to accept.
      4. Senator Kringel – move to make amendment to change language of resolution.  SY – 2005-14- Amend line 37 – insert after word programs, “to adequately fund such programs, to encourage law schools to establish endowments to fund such programs”
      5. All in favor of Senator Kringel’s amendment – passes.  One person opposes.
      6. Senator Ryan moves to call to question resolution as a whole – passes
      7. Motion of passing LRAP as amended – passes unanimously.
  1. New Business
    1. Budget Requests
      1. Senator Tsai:  ACLU Public Interest Funding Event
        1. Networking event for lawyers who don’t want to go to big firms, come find out how to pay off your loans.  The only other public interest group is SPILF but they are limited in funds as well. 
        2. Asking for $200 to help pay for food for event.
        3. Senator Arnold moves to deny money.  Second by Senator Zink.
          1. Senator Arnold – ACLU does not cater to whole law school and we should not fund things as such. 
          2. Senator Kringel – are participators paying anything for this event?  ACLU will be providing some funds.
          3. Senator Zink – how much is the food and how much will ACLU put up?  ACLU hasn’t said how much they will put up and the wine bar will allow us to bring our own food.
          4. Call to question.
          5. All in favor to deny funding and grant $0. – motion fails.
            1. Division – 2 Nays.
        4. Senator Zink moves to give ACLU only $100.
          1. Senator Ryan – moves to deny this motion and just vote on $200.
          2. All in favor of funding $100 – Motion fails.
        5. Senator Ryan moves to allocate $200 to ACLU.
          1. Call to question.
          2. Motion – passes.  2 Nays.
      2. VP Choy: Condolence Flowers
        1. Motion to reimburse VP for purchasing condolences flowers for 3L.
        2. Motion passes.
      3. NLG – budget request for speaker event.  Budget request automatically fails because no one from NLG showed up, however NLG can come to next meeting for approval as long as they come before their event occurs.  They must show up at Feb 21st SBA meeting.
    2. Bylaw Amendment Offered by Senators Samtoy and Arnold.  Senator Samtoy – withdraw this until Senator Zink’s committee meets.
    3. Senator Schmitt:  Organizational handbook for incoming 1Ls
      1. This handbook will be a comprehensive packet including all student organizations, what is the SBA, how to start a student organization, etc.
      2. VP Choy – student orgs will be posted online as soon as we get waivers and the glass cases will soon have student orgs pictures.
      3. Pres. Mortenson creates task force to start this headed by Schmitt.
    4. Senator Kringel  moves to create an ad hoc student Honor Code Revision Committee pursuant to Article I Section 8 of the SBA Constitution with Senators Kringel and Tsai as co-chairs and such committee shall be in existence until such time that the student-faculty Honor Code Revision Committee has completed the Honor Code and submitted it to the faculty for approval or the SBA Senate dissolves the committee by a majority vote.  The purposes of such committee shall be to complement the student-faculty Honor Code Revision Committee and to solicit participation and opinions from a wider group of students beyond the two students allowed to sit on the student-faculty Committee. – Move to accept – passes.
    5. Senator Kringel moves to create an ad hoc student Curriculum Committee pursuant to Article I Section 8 of the SBA Constitution with Senators Ryan and Kringel as co-chairs and such committee shall be in existence until such time that the SBA Senate dissolves the committee by a majority vote.  The purposes of such committee shall be to complement the student-faculty Curriculum Committee and to solicit participation and opinions from a wider group of students beyond the two students allowed to sit on the student-faculty Committee.
      1. Motion to accept.
      2. Call to question – passes.
      3. Motion – passes.  1 opposed.  2 abstained.
    6. Election Commission
      1. Chief Justice Kimble
      2. Forms for exec officers are 3 pages.
      3. Questions are:
        1. Please describe your experience with SBA.
        2. What single change would you propose?
        3. What do you see as your role?
        4. How would you delegate decision making authority?
        5. Apple or IBM?
        6. What’s the most difficult challenge facing 1st year?
        7. How heavy is your course load?
        8. Wasting money?
        9. Aiding student in loan check?
      4. Candidacy form questions for senate positions:
        1. Apple or IBM?
        2. Shticks
        3. First year challenge?
        4. Is SBA wasting money?
        5. Aiding in student loan checks.
      5. Applicant forms due to Senate Counsel Neely’s desk.
      6. Clarifications on posting rules and who can answer questions on authority.
      7. Election commission wants candidates to ask questions.
      8. SC Neely – forms will be posted on SBA bulletin board.
      9. Senator Ryan – have you required forms from write in candidates?  24 hour period to get this in.
      10. Senator Kringel – motion to postpone till next meeting.
        1. Motion – passes.  3 Nays.  

 

  1. Announcements - none
  1. Cheers & Jeers
    1. Jeer those girls from Cleveland State who choose to spend their time hanging out with Senator Arnold.
    2. Cheer exec board for setting up open forum.
    3. Cheer election committee for clarifying sticky putty issue on postering.

 

    • Adjournment
      • Senator Arnold opposes adjournment.