By Laura Rodell
In an effort to boost attendance at weekly Student Government Association meetings, senators voted on Tuesday against reinstating a senator who had accrued two unexcused absences.
According to SGA policy, senators with two unexcused absences are eligible for removal. An excused absence requires a senator to secure Kate Legnetti’s, the ethics and conduct chair, permission to miss or depart early from a meeting within 24 hours of the meeting. Missing a meeting without giving prior notice constitutes an unexcused absence and leaving early without giving notice constitutes one-half of an unexcused absence.
Senators up for removal are afforded an opportunity to address the senate and present a case for their reinstatement. Other senators may also speak out in support of or against the student in question.
Sophomore Sean Hutchinson told the senate that his commitments to other student organizations prevented him from attending last week’s meeting and would preclude him from staying the full length of future ones.
He did not ultimately receive enough votes for reinstatement and was removed from senate by a vote of 15 to 13, plus five abstentions.
There is not always a debate, however, because not all students opt to defend their post.
“Out of the last six senators who came up for removal on account of unexcused absences, Sean was the only one who showed up to argue for reinstatement,” said Legnetti. “The rest were automatically removed.”
Senators generally recognize that being a member of SGA means making the time to show up to meetings despite busy schedules, as regular attendance is essential to the body’s smooth operation.
“Senators are typically very active in the student community as a whole, and we hope that they can prioritize their schedules to attend SGA and best serve the student body,” said Crystal Kayel, the academics affairs chair who favored Hutchinson’s reinstatement.
Amending the SGA constitution bylaws requires the approval of two-thirds of senators, which this semester translates to 33 out of 49 active senators. The passage of legislation is thus obstructed when less than 33 senators are present at a given meeting.
A piece of legislation Legnetti authored regarding early departure from senate meetings, for instance, took three meetings to get passed. Its approval last week came after the legislation was reclassified as a change in SGA’s policy series – as opposed to an amendment to its constitution – because the former requires the approval of a majority of senators present, an easier standard to meet.
Since a vast majority of senators consistently meet their SGA-related obligations, a toughened stance on attendance is essentially a way to preserve the already impressive level of commitment and dedication within the body.
“We’ve worked so hard this year and we’ve passed a bunch of legislation that is helpful to students,” Legnetti said. “There are a lot of us who care.”

Former Sen. Sean Hutchinson was denied reinstatement to the SGA.