Council Clippings: Debate over procedure delays UHR meeting

This week's meeting of the Undergraduate House of Representatives began with debate over the implications of parliamentary procedure in the meetings. The House moved the joint allocation to Musician's Network to old business, prompting discussion over bill placement.

After last week's meeting was canceled due to a lack of representatives present to vote, Matt Peeples, executive vice president, moved the bills in new business from that week into old business based on precedent.

Representative George Ray raised the issue that no bills could have been moved into old business without a meeting last week, and as such the group should suspend the bylaws to individually move all bills into old business. After 30 minutes of debate over the appropriate use of parliamentary procedure, the house voted to follow the decision of the chair and keep the bills in old business.

The first bill considered was the Joint Allocation to TEAM Buzz. The group was requesting funds to cover their annual service project. The bill was amended to the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) recommendation of $2,563.88 and passed with 41 votes in favor and one vote against.

The second bill was the Joint Allocation to WREK radio. WREK's general manager Brad Petrick spoke for the organization, requesting $1,400 for three students to attend a conference on radio management. The bill was amended down to $400 per the JFC recommendation and passed without any discussion.

Next the house considered a bill presented by Student Government Association. The request was for a Joint Finance allocation of $700 to fund a laptop for SGA meetings. The house passed the bill with 28 votes in favor, 12 votes against and one abstention.

The fourth bill brought before the house was the Joint Allocation to Women's Rugby. The team, which was only chartered last spring, was requesting an operating budget for the year, including travel fees and equipment. The bill was amended to $9,405 from the Prior Year Account and was passed with 42 in favor, one opposed and one abstention.

Next the house considered the Joint Allocation to the African Students Association. The group is holding a cultural event called Taste of Africa and was requesting funds for advertising and rental fees.

The house amended the bill per JFC recommendation, and then further amended the bill to add in a Technique ad so as to bring the bill in line with the version passed by the Graduate Student Senate and avoid sending the bill to conference committee. The bill passed with 42 votes in favor and two votes opposed.

The next two bills considered were respectively the Appointments to Institute Wide Committees and the Appointment of the Undergraduate Elections Chair. Representative Leah McCormick, the House nominations chair, was unable to contact the various appointees, and as such both bills were postponed until next meeting.

The eighth bill voted on by the house was Changes to the Policy of the Joint Finance Committee. The policy had been sent back to SGA by the Student Activity Committee for two grammatical changes. Discrepancies were noticed between the amendments seen in the house and in the senate, spurring debate over the extent to which the bill could be amended. As any amendments would have changed the UHR bylaws, which require notice, no motions to amend the bill were entertained, and the bill passed 38 to five. The bill will now be in conference committee between the GSS and UHR.

The ninth bill was the Joint Allocation to Caribbean Students organization, which was postponed indefinitely, effectively killing the bill.

The final bill of the evening was the Joint Allocation to Musicians Network. Ryan James, the head engineer, explained that the group was presenting the band Copeland live for the student body and was requesting $27,113.22. The group expects nearly 1,000 Tech students to attend, equating a price of $27 per student. The bill passed 37-6.

Bills passed

• Joint Allocation to TEAM Buzz
• Joint Allocation to WREK radio
• Joint Allocation to SGA
• Joint Allocation to Women's Rugby
• Joint Allocation to ASA
• Changes to wording in JFC Policy
• Joint Allocation to Musician's Network Campus-Wide Concert

Bills postponed

• Joint Allocation to Caribbean Student Association
• Institute-Wide Committee appointments
• Appointment of Undergraduate elections chair