ASUW to vote on policy revisions, new ex-officio position

The Associated Students of the University of Wyoming will vote at the senate meeting Tuesday whether to create a new ex-officio position. The senate will also vote on two policy changes.

The first bill will create an ex-officio position for UW Faculty Senate, which will allow faculty a voice in upcoming discussions regarding topics important to both students and professors. The position includes discussion abilities, but not voting rights.

“A big reason is, we’re trying to get more cooperation. We all have a voice at the university. There is currently a Staff Senate ex-officio. ASUW sends representatives to both staff and faculty senate. We just wanted to complete the circle,” ASUW Vice President Brett Kahler, who is one author of the bill, said.

Kahler said there was a faculty senate position in the past, but the position was removed because ASUW by-laws require ex-officio attendance to meet certain guidelines. The faculty senate position did not meet the required attendance and was removed.

The need for the representation is higher than ever, Kahler said, due to issues like the changes to general education requirements and the ongoing plus/minus grading discussion.

The second bill, if approved, will be a revision of the procedure for filling a vacancy in the senate.

“Last year, the College of Engineering had a senator resign and we had to scramble to get the seat filled through an interview process,” Sen. Joshua Messer said.

The current vacancy procedure does not address what to do when a vacancy occurs and no clear option exists for filling it.  According to the language of the bill, if the list of candidates for a particular college is exhausted, there will be an application period for interested parties to apply. Interviews will be conducted by the ASUW Elections Committee and the committee will vote on the candidate to fill the vacancy.

The final bill may change policy regarding the dates of elections. The proposed policy would cut the election period down to three days in the event of a holiday.