Prompted by the ongoing investigation into Student Association President Eric Evangelista, some members of the SA assembly have learned that they have more power in the student government than they originally thought.

SA Speaker of the Assembly Andrew Regalado, Recorder Drew Jacobson and assembly member Sophia Faram gave a presentation on this subject during the SA meeting on Feb. 6. They said that throughout the investigation into Evangelista — who may have violated SA’s constitution by appointing a cabinet member without opening applications to the student body — some assembly members were unsure what role they had to play in the investigation.

Because of that, Jacobson said during the meeting, a report has been drafted to better understand some of the power the assembly “may not have known it had.”

Many of the current assembly members were elected to their positions during the 60th session — the current session — so they are not well versed in the power that the assembly has, Regalado said.

The new report delves into the SA constitution and bylaws that have not been addressed during the current session.

The last time an SA president was investigated was in 2013. No current member of SA was present for the investigation into Allie Curtis, who faced a vote of impeachment after she allowed Colin Crowley, a co-director of public relations, to serve in that position even though he was on leave from the university.

Regalado said the power of the assembly was initially unclear to him. For example, the report highlights that if an SA president is voted to be impeached, the assembly then gets to vote on the decision over whether to continue the impeachment proceedings.

Jacobson, a sophomore computer science major, said he was surprised by some of the SA bylaws he read when compiling the report.

“I was surprised with how much the assembly can be involved within other branches of SA,” Jacobson said.

Appointed speaker of the assembly in January, Regalado spent the first semester of the 2016-17 academic year as a typical assembly member. This has given him the ability to see the workings of SA from both the cabinet and assembly side, he said.

Regalado, a member of the administrative operations committee, mentioned during the meeting that a new bill that would be aimed at “fixing” SA’s checks and balances system may soon be proposed. He also announced there will be an opportunity for the assembly to ask questions to specific cabinet members in order to “bridge a gap” between SA’s two branches of government.

In forming this report, Regalado said he hopes to create a better understanding for the campus community regarding what their representatives are doing. Regalado has also called on assembly members to better educate themselves on the bylaws and the constitution for the future.

“We’re kind of responsible to know everything, but it’s also that transition and educating yourself on how to do that,” Regalado said.

Published on February 12, 2017 at 8:41 pm

Contact William: wgmuoio@syr.edu