The group of concerned students went back and forth for almost half an hour to call the meeting to order and approve the day’s agenda.

“We really need to be cautious in the way we proceed,” COGS President Emily Bank said. “These changes affect a lot of students.”

The subcommittee itself, however, exists under questionable circumstances.

The most recent meeting of the Council of Graduate Students was never officially adjourned because quorum was allegedly lost among the voting body of representatives. Representatives never received a copy of the official minutes from the meeting, meaning they are unaware of what decisions were made in the meeting. This left several important decisions hanging in limbo, including the appointment of most of the new voting representatives.

The lack of communication between general assembly and the e-board has caused some tension among the council, but both parties are trying to solve the issue.

Members of the executive board, voting representatives and non-voting representatives were all present at the ad-hoc subcommittee meeting. This raised questions about who should be allowed to vote on official subcommittee movements, or if the subcommittee was even official in the first place.

The group deliberated heatedly over the bylaws of the COGS constitution, regarding the status of non-elected members to vote on council decisions. All of this took place before the meeting had moved past the approval of the meeting’s agenda.

“This is embarrassing,” one member said. “And it’s not how COGS operates.”

Rather than argue any longer, one member proposed to call an emergency meeting of the COGS general council. Bank disagreed with this notion and the idea was turned down.

Finally, the group decided to adjourn the meeting of the sub-committee early.

After making little progress examining formalities in the COGS constitution, the group elected to have an organic discussion as concerned individuals instead of official COGS members. After the meeting adjourned, tensions settled and the meeting took on a more casual approach to proceedings. This led to a productive discussion and formation of several questions for distribution to university officials that the COGS general council will vote to approve.

The next meeting of the COGS general assembly is on Oct. 8, where the e-board hopes to clarify the organization’s stance on the changes to the Health Care Policy and assuage the confusion in members.