SGA tables bills editing accountability review, will vote at later date

By Sarah Sternhagen, Contributing Writer

The Towson University Student Government Association Tuesday discussed several bills surrounding the accountability procedures for SGA members that were ultimately tabled at its third General Assembly meeting of the fall semester. 

Sen. Steven White introduced bills 1, 3 and 5, created to edit the process for accountability procedures and, as White said, balance power between branches. 

Currently, when a member of the SGA is submitted for Professional Development Review, only the person accusing the member of malpractice and the attorney general are involved in the review, according to the Accountability and Ethics Handbook. 

White’s bills would require an associate justice to be a third party in the case. The associate justice would need to gather evidence for the review in addition to the attorney general, and make a decision on the case. 

SGA members can be submitted to the accountability review process for the following reasons, according to the handbook: 

• “Neglect of duties. 
• Violation of the SGA Code of Conduct.
• Violation of the SGA Code of Ethics.
• Failure to uphold an expectation outlined by an Executive Board member.
• Failure to contribute to a positive decorum during meetings.
• Any offense that is believed to be harmful to the SGA and its mission.”

Bill 1 also adds “violation of the SGA Constitution and or Bylaws” to this list. 

The bills were eventually tabled after multiple senators expressed wishes to go back and read through them more thoroughly. 

Bills 7 and 8, also introduced by White, were on the agenda as well. 

As this was the first week of the bills being brought before the senate, they were not up for vote, but open for questioning. 

These bills would dissolve the grant review committee and transfer its responsibilities to the appropriations committee.

Several members asked if the grant review committee would be reassigned to new positions if that committee is dissolved, a detail not yet figured out. 

The senate did not reach a verdict on either bill groupings. Both will be either revisited or voted on at a later point.

The SGA also approved two new senators and promoted two executive staff. 

Calvin Thach and Dwayne Gentry were voted and sworn in as senators. They both spoke to the senate on why they would be an asset to the SGA before a motion was called for voting.

“I feel like if I’m more involved then I can get closer to the community,” Thach said. “It’s always good to just get involved and help.”

Both were voted in unanimously.

“I mainly just look forward to being able to spread my voice around campus,” Gentry said. “I love for people to feel heard, feel seen, and definitely to get more involved.”

After their swearing in, the new senators joined their peers at the senators’ table and will begin their duties this week.

Additionally, Mina Bacha is the new assistant director of Civic Engagement. Ethan Dobbin, a former senator, is the new assistant director of Academic Affairs.