The MSU student body will decide in the spring whether the Interfraternity and Panhellenic councils will have a vote on the ASMSU Academic Assembly.
The Academic Assembly voted 10-2 Tuesday night to hold a referendum to allow the greek councils a vote on Academic Assembly. One representative abstained.
ASMSU is MSU’s undergraduate student government.
Both councils have been a part of Academic Assembly since they were allowed associate membership in 1995. Residence Halls Association and the University Apartment Council also were given membership that year.
RHA was granted a voting seat about two years ago.
“We’re following in RHA’s footsteps, so it’s not like we’re blazing a trail,” said Kristen Janson, vice president of programming on the Panhellenic Council. “It’s important we’re represented and it’s important that we have a vote.”
Associate members are allowed a seat during meetings, but are not allowed a vote on the Academic Assembly, which is primarily composed of student representatives of MSU’s colleges. The greek groups do have voting seats on Student Assembly, which controls ASMSU’s budget.
Academic Assembly Chairperson Matt Clayson said Interfraternity and Panhellenic representatives were under the impression they had a vote at the meetings.
“It was a big screw up,” he said.
The representatives realized they didn’t have a vote in April when their ballots in a vote didn’t count.
“We always went and we always voted and I guess there was a misunderstanding,” Janson said. “We were frustrated. It was kind of embarrassing, actually.”
But the education senior said the group continued to attend the meetings, despite their inability to vote.
“When any group finds out they don’t have a vote, they don’t attend meetings because your vote’s your voice,” Clayson said. “But Steve and Kristen decided to be positive about it.”
Steve Schauer, vice president of membership development for the Interfraternity Council, and Janson developed a bill during the summer months to amend the ASMSU constitution, and allow them to have a vote.
Schauer introduced the bill to the assembly, and said the councils should have a vote because the greek system feels strongly about academics, and the grade statistics of its members prove the point. A voting seat on the Academic Assembly would allow them to not only express their opinions, but their vote as well.
“It’s something we didn’t know and it’s something we could’ve brought up for (last) spring referendum, and this should’ve been taken care of a long time ago,” said Schauer, a biochemistry junior.
Some ASMSU representatives disagreed, saying the greek councils aren’t academically based organizations and should not have a vote on the Academic Assembly.
The issue will be decided in ASMSU’s spring referendum, where students will be asked to amend the body’s constitution to add the two seats.
“They made an excellent case,” Internal Vice Chairperson Caleb Marker said. “One of their four pillars is academics.”
Marker said there’s a possibility the referendum can be earlier, but no early date has been approved yet.
