A question of quorum may void everything the Residence Halls Association has done in the 2001-02 academic year.
At the association’s meeting Wednesday night, several representatives questioned the legality of what executive board members were calling quorum.
If the RHA General Assembly decides quorum has been misrepresented this year, money allocated to student groups could be void. The general assembly approved more than $18,000 this semester.
In recent years, the association has been judging quorum - the legal number of members present to vote on issues - which is a two-thirds of association’s 39 representatives.
Officials said only 29 representatives regularly appear at meetings. The association has been judging quorum based on two-thirds of 29, but its constitution, which was voted on by MSU students, says, “two-thirds of voting members of the General Assembly,” or 26, must be present for quorum. The constitution was last revised in November.
“This organization should be following the constitution, not what has been accepted as tradition,” said Case Hall Rep. Adam Raezler. Raezler was one of the representatives who called the association’s practices into question.
“Students have the right to know if we are following the constitution they voted for or the tradition, which they don’t know about.”
Salman Ateequi, president of the Muslim Students’ Association, said the hall association needs to reorganize and replace members who are responsible for the quorum issue. The Muslim association received $600 for its Unity Eid Diner that took place March 15.
“That would really affect us because we fund raise all semester long,” he said. “To get a request for a refund on what they’ve granted, would put us through a lot of hardships.
“I don’t think any groups who were granted money for this should be held responsible.”
Amit Agarwal, president of the Coalition of Indian Undergraduate Students, said the coalition received $2,225 from the hall association for its annual cultural Indian event Satrang, which took place April 6.
“RHA has always taken the stance that they represent the halls and student organizations,” Agarwal said. “They should know if they don’t have a quorum they shouldn’t be holding meetings and voting. They are leading all the organizations that counted on them in a false direction.”
Patrick Walker, the Brody Residents In Greater Harmony Together representative, said potentially everything voted on since August could be voided.
“On that basis if that motion was passed everything we’ve done would be void,” he said. “All the events we’ve funded we would be required to give our money back and all the positions that were filled would be opened again.”
The association lost quorum at Wednesday’s meeting while members walked in and out during the meeting.
Black Student Alliance member Michael Oden, who is chairman of Black Celebratory, said the group received $2,800 for a graduation ceremony for minority students.
“We actually placed order for some items against the money from RHA,” Oden said. “If won’t stop the event, but it may stop us from doing some of the things we’ve planned.”
But John Sturk, RHAinternal vice president, said the question of quorum will not affect the year’s decisions.
“If quorum was determined by the executive board at that time and no one objected than there’s nothing that could be done,” he said.
RHA President Tim Liss said members likely will make changes to their constitution - which would need to be approved by the student body - to resolve the quorum issue.
“What the (general assembly) wants to do to our constitution is up to them,” he said.
