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Allegations, resignations, removal rock Senate
The ASUO Constitution Court removed presidential hopeful Sara Hamilton as Senate president
by Jobetta Hedelman and Jill Aho | News Reporter and News Editor |
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The UO Constitution Court ruled Wednesday that Student Senate President Sara Hamilton would be removed from the Senate.
A grievance filed by Senator Erica Reiko Anderson charged that Hamilton had not been fulfilling her duties as a senator because on three occasions she failed to send out a Senate agenda within 48 hours of the regular Wednesday meeting. The grievance accuses Hamilton of violating Oregon Public Meetings Law as well as Senate rules.
The court ruled that while Hamilton did not violate the public meetings law, which requires only 24 hour notice of all meetings, she was in violation of Senate rules. The ruling says the court found four additional instances of Hamilton not sending the agenda out 48 hours prior to the meeting.
Anderson said she had asked that Hamilton make a formal apology to the Senate, and she did not know what would happen.
"It wasn't my goal to get her removed from Senate," Anderson said, adding that she was not going to apologize for the court's ruling.
According to article 5.3 of Senate rules in the Green Tape Notebook, any Senator found to not fulfill the duties of their position must be removed from their seat. Although the court stated in its opinion that the punishment was too harsh, it had no choice but to follow the rules as they are laid out in the governing document.
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"While the Court feels that such a punishment is unnecessarily severe and completely out of proportion to the offense that has been committed, it is required to enforce it," the ruling reads. "The Rules of the Student Senate are mandatory authority that this Court is bound to apply; they do not permit the Court to exercise its discretion in balancing the equities of the circumstances."
The UO Constitution Court ruled Wednesday that Student Senate President Sara Hamilton would be removed from the Senate.
A grievance filed by Senator Erica Reiko Anderson charged that Hamilton had not been fulfilling her duties as a senator because on three occasions she failed to send out a Senate agenda within 48 hours of the regular Wednesday meeting. The grievance accuses Hamilton of violating Oregon Public Meetings Law as well as Senate rules.
The court ruled that while Hamilton did not violate the public meetings law, which requires only 24 hour notice of all meetings, she was in violation of Senate rules. The ruling says the court found four additional instances of Hamilton not sending the agenda out 48 hours prior to the meeting.
Anderson said she had asked that Hamilton make a formal apology to the Senate, and she did not know what would happen.
"It wasn't my goal to get her removed from Senate," Anderson said, adding that she was not going to apologize for the court's ruling.
According to article 5.3 of Senate rules in the Green Tape Notebook, any Senator found to not fulfill the duties of their position must be removed from their seat. Although the court stated in its opinion that the punishment was too harsh, it had no choice but to follow the rules as they are laid out in the governing document.
---
Online Exclusive
Watch video from the meeting
---
"While the Court feels that such a punishment is unnecessarily severe and completely out of proportion to the offense that has been committed, it is required to enforce it," the ruling reads. "The Rules of the Student Senate are mandatory authority that this Court is bound to apply; they do not permit the Court to exercise its discretion in balancing the equities of the circumstances."
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