Congress frustrated by tough issues

After spending several hours disputing controversial resolutions Tuesday night, members of Student Congress have expressed discontent with what they called the group's inefficient meetings.

During Tuesday's meeting, representatives spent more than an hour debating a resolution to condemn the selection process for speakers at a nonpartisan elections forum.

The bill, which ultimately was struck down in a 15-4 vote, targeted the committee for inviting Natalie Fixmer to speak as part of Tuesday's nonpartisan forum on women's health, sponsored by the Women's Affairs Committee of the executive branch.

Fixmer, who works for Planned Parenthood, spoke about women's issues but did not mention her stance on abortion, said Menaka Kalaskar, chairwoman of the committee.

But some Congress members voiced concern about the committee's decision to allow Fixmer to speak because of her affiliation with an abortion-rights group.

Congress members also debated a bill that condemns the burning of another's American flag on campus. The bill passed in a 7-6 vote with nine abstentions.

After the meeting adjourned well past midnight, Rep. Kunal Nandy sent an e-mail to the Congress listserv and voiced his concern about the amount of time the group spent disputing the women's affairs issue.

"In many ways, we lost our sense of decorum and academic detachment during our debate on the Women's Affairs Resolution," the e-mail states.

Nandy proposed discussing how to make Congress meetings more efficient, and he offered a four-step guideline to condense discussions on future legislation.

"I felt that some things got repetitious during the discussion," Nandy said during an interview Wednesday. "In the end, it could have been handled more efficiently."

Speaker Pro Tem Jennifer Orr responded to Nandy's e-mail via the listserv Wednesday afternoon and called for Congress to address the issue quickly.

"If something doesn't change soon, we are going to lose members due to conflict within the body, along with respect from those outside," Orr's e-mail stated. "I feel as though meetings are becoming competitions from members to reaffirm their personal beliefs by winning votes on legislation."

Such debate, which many say has occurred during almost all Congress meetings, has led some members of student government to question the body's mission.

"I don't think that the flag burning or the women's affairs resolutions were relevant enough to put on the docket," Student Body President Matt Calabria said, adding that he fears Congress is setting a precedent by debating such issues into the early hours of the morning.

But some Congress members asserted that such issues deserve the attention they received.

Rep. Luke Farley said the matters are Congress' responsibility.

"It's Congress' job to provide oversight," Farley said. "We want to give the Women's Affairs Committee some direction, especially since student fee money is being used. ... What are we going to spend time on if not these issues?"

Regardless, some members said that Congress should allocate its time for more significant resolutions. "I didn't think they were important," said Rep. Parker Wiseman. "If it were up to me, they wouldn't have been discussed at all."

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.