By Justin Roberts

News Editor ’10

Saturday, September 26

3:00 pm

Friday night’s student senate meeting was a sordid affair, a screaming collision of uninterested parties cushioned by the plurality of patient boredom. The senators stumbled on procedural blunders, failures of planning and good intentions ran amok. Truly, a weird night.

Friday, September 25

7:06 pm “Once More into the Breach, Dear Friends.”

The Senators sit in the Social Justice House awaiting an informal meeting. No one knows what to expect. In walks the president, apologizing for not having a real retreat, with instructions to bond and eat up. The meeting will start at 7:30.

The chicken tastes delicious. Senators mingle awkwardly and a few settle themselves on the front stoop. They express concern about the meeting’s informality.

“ I don’t think this is a meeting where we can get anything accomplished. The congress does not meet in backyard barbeques and if they do, its not to talk about official business,” remarks Senator Josh Cipolla. He also talks about the lack of information about committees. He has a point.

Restrained power is the cornerstone of the American Republic. The founders erected barriers between the agents of government and casual power, intentionally making each action as difficult as possible. Restrictions on political actors protect the people from the whims of their rulers. The framers also convoluted the lines of command, further tempering each actor’s power with mandatory cooperation.

Saint Peter’s Student Senate runs on the same principle. The Eboard presides over class representatives, empowered to speak for all undergrads. Order requires adherence to strict rules. Good ideas must survive rigorous standards before becoming policy. The process’ difficulty discourages the unprepared, saving everyone time and effort. Informality is not compatible with good government. It certainly made the meeting harder to conduct.

7:40 The Call to Order

The Social Justice House’s top floor is tight. Secretary Weir barks at the senators, “Raise ‘em high. Keep ‘em up,” as he struggles to get an accurate vote count. The club Eboard waiting to get their Constitution’s approved pack into the hallway, some perched at the top of the stairs. The minutes for last week’s meetings have mysteriously inaccurate vote counts, stalling the senate’s vote to approve them. No one has the handout for last April’s unresolved old business, forcing Borges to table it once again.

Factions too personal to address dominate a large chunk of the night. Every politician’s personal life bleeds into his profession. Passion drives ideals and ambition into public life. The tension on display in the senate tonight is too personal to repeat, despite the belief in accountability I share with Senator Cipolla and President Borges. Too much gossip.

8:01

President Borges comments on the last meeting’s ad hoc committee controversy. The senators questioned the ad hoc’s constitutionality and the practicality of having 11. “Remember that being an Executive board member is a full time job while a senator is a part time job,” he tells them, “We are not saying do less work, just do it more efficiently.”

8:11

Passing the four club constitutions is the evening’s high point. Reprentatives from SAVE, Project Peace, the Haitian Student Association and Circle K present and defend their club’s charters, the senators examine the language for appropriateness, discuss the clubs’ merits and pass the motions to approve.

8:46

The debate over community service becomes a pseudo-productive factional debate. A few ideas are introduced, the senators debate over the meaning of community service and Saint Peter’s rules about service and factional tension asserts itself. No comment. Proposals will be submitted in email, tabled until the next meeting. Senator Cipolla takes exception to the meager $50 allotted for this semester’s service event. “Shouldn’t service be more important at a Jesuit school?”

9:05

Senator Pilger wants more communication between the students and the senate. He proposes an electronic Senate Newsletter. A good idea everyone can get behind. The rest of the night is dominated by semi-relevant issues polluted with ad homonym vitriol. I have little stomach for it.

America’s founders designed law to be restrictive in an effort to preserve society from the raw animal nature men adopt in groups. The mob-impulse pervades every state, no matter how formal. Individuals of focus and integrity take office to serve purposes and not just play their parts. To live up to the virtue of accountability, the senate would do well to focus its integrity. Friday’s meeting was mix of competence and wandering personal venom. I pray, the Eboard’s leadership and the senators’ integrity manifest more fully next time.