Dominic Baez – Editor-in-chief. Because of a lack of senators, three clubs lost their charters during the Nov. 2 Senate meeting.
In an effort to fairly allocate student funds and provide a forum for student communication, the Associated Students of Linfield College Senate mandates certain requirements in its bylaws that all ASLC-sponsored organizations must follow. One such stipulation states that every club must have a senator in order to maintain its charter; clubs without a senator will face the loss of ASLC funding and be stripped of club status by Senate vote. This week, six such clubs faced that fate.
The Linfield Democrats Club, Vegan-Veggie Club and Wildcats with Sticks: A Knitting Club did not have senators present, which violates Clause II, Section II, parts C and D of ASLC Bylaws, and were de-chartered by a majority vote of the Senate.
The Accounting, Belly Dancing and Linfield Rugby clubs, at risk of being de-chartered, finally had senators present at the Senate meeting, thus maintaining their club status.
While not having a senator is grounds for being de-chartered, senators also have the ability to vote for clubs to retain their status, which would result in a form of jury nullification, junior ASLC Club Director Colin Jones said. This, however, did not happen Nov. 2, as the three clubs without a senator present were de-chartered.
“This isn’t just some archaic rule that we dug up from the 1920s,” Jones said. “There’s a reason why we enforce clubs having senators.”
Those reasons, he said, include communication among clubs, communication between ASLC and clubs and representation of student interest in ASLC.
All six clubs were notified several times before being placed on Senate’s agenda, Jones said. Nearly four weeks had passed since the beginning of the school year before the clubs’ lack of senatorial representation became an issue. The clubs were contacted via e-mail and in person by Jones, senior ASLC Vice President Chris Norman and sophomore ASLC Secretary Shelby Simmons. The Accounting, Belly Dancing and Linfield Rugby clubs were the only ones to respond.
The new senators, especially the Rugby senator, said it was difficult for the clubs to find a representative, and this accounted for the prolonged absences.
The Vegan-Veggie Club lacked any sort of leadership, as the club’s active members graduated last year. Wildcats with Sticks: A Knitting Club was not heared from by ASLC.
The Linfield Democrats Club, however, actively chose not to have a senator present during the Senate meeting, Jones said.
“The Linfield Democrats Club was a sad situation,” he said. “It made a conscious decision to not have a senator. According to another senator, who was part of the club, the Linfield Democrats Club president wasn’t concerned with having a senator.”
Jones said that he was disappointed by the club’s decision, as he went out of his way to help the club retain its charter.
“I’m always sad when I have to de-charter a club,” he said. “I’m the club director because I love clubs, and it’s just a shame.”
However, Jones said he was excited that the other clubs had a senator present in time to save their charters.
For more information regarding the ASLC bylaws, go to www.linfield.edu/policy/student-handbook.pdf.