Membership guidelines were discussed and debated at the final Temple Student Government general assembly meeting of the fall semester on Nov. 25.
The Executive Board approved, by a vote of 6-3, the eliminatation of mandatory participation in a TSG committee.
“We’ve heard complaints that committee requirements are too much of a burden,” TSG President Juan Galeano said.
Student reaction to the resolution was mixed.
The General Assembly approved a motion to discuss the vote and members had an opportunity to voice their opinions.
“I’m against meetings,” senior Cory Johnson, president of Temple’s Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, said. “I think committee chairs should recruit members. Requiring attendance is a lot to ask one person to do along with their own associations.”
Current TSG rules require every member to participate in at least one committee. Representatives are expected to attend every general assembly meeting, in addition to participating in the committees that they represent.
“If [students] want to have a voice, they should attend meetings,” Alex Barnett, a freshman, offered another view on committee participation. “I think we should have the right not to attend.” Senior Madison Salavec echoed a similar sentiment.
“When you start requiring people to be somewhere they don’t want to be, you hold back those who do,” he said.
After a lengthy discussion, the general assembly voted to table the resolution until next semester, giving the Executive Board ample time to create alternate options.
When asked how she felt about the vote being delayed for another semester, Kyra Taylor, TSG Parliamentarian said, “That’s OK, because it shows that students and actively invested in Student Government enough to put serious thought into it.”
Myles Aion can be reached with questions at Myles@Temple.edu
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