Student Congress Focuses on External Appointments

It also brought three resolutions before the full Congress for examination. All three resolutions - approving appointments to the Committee on Student Conduct, approving emergency justices to the Student Supreme Court and approving the Board of Elections - passed.

Student Body Vice President Rudy Kleysteuber, who oversees external appointments, explained to Congress the process potential appointees go through before they are appointed.

External appointees serve on committees outside of student government and must be approved by Student Congress.

First, interested students apply for these positions. Kleysteuber said members of the Cabinet then interview these applicants, while he and two assistants go through their applications.

The process has been slowed this year by the introduction of a new database to keep track of the appointments, said Kleysteuber, who believes it will make the process more efficient in the future.

"Before, you would have to go through the (Student) Code and then go to each committee member and go through all the people on the committee and type in all the e-mail addresses," Kleysteuber said.

"Now I just tell the computer that I need a list of all the people who need to be approved by Congress and haven't yet, and it just gives me a list of all the e-mail addresses, and I just copy and paste them."

But he said getting to this point has been slow. This year's appointment process also is designed to produce better appointees and more accountability once they are appointed, Kleysteuber said.

During Tuesday's meeting, Student Congress Speaker Mark Townsend made remarks on the issue of attendance, which he has continually brought up at Congress meetings.

Two members were expelled for lack of attendance, and the Rules and Judiciary Committee was reprimanded for failing to meet at either of its past two meeting times.

"Quite honestly, that's not acceptable," Townsend said. "They need to meet. That's their job."

Student Body President Justin Young also spoke before Congress on the issue of parking. "It sets such a horrible precedent to make such a decision without including student opinion," he said of an administrative decision to eliminate resident on-campus parking in the near future. No students were consulted before the decision was made.

Young also encouraged Student Congress members to sign up for Safe Zone training to learn how to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students, faculty and staff on campus. Training is administered by the Center for Healthy Student Behaviors at Student Health Service.

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.