Correction Appended
A Student Government referendum on increasing the operation hours of the Student Health Center was not approved by Student Activities and will not appear on this fall's ballot.
Referenda must go through Student Activities before they are placed on the electronic ballot via my.american.edu for elections. Passing a resolution in the SG Senate would be a more appropriate method of demonstrating student support, according to Student Activities Coordinator of Governance and Leadership Andrew Toczydlowski.
“A referendum is needed when it’s something they [the SG] have direct control over,” Toczydlowski said. “The reason that this one is not appropriate is the SG really has no control over the University’s Budget Committee.”
The SG Undergraduate Senate had designed and approved the referendum to gauge student support of increased Health Center services. They would have then used the numbers from the vote to appeal to the University’s Budget Committee to make changes to the Health Center.
The referendum outlined two options for extended hours:
• Open the Health Center from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturdays, with the last appointment available at 11:45 a.m.
• Open the Health Center on Saturdays for cases of illness or injury that require immediate care. This would not include physicals, immunization or women’s annual visits.
Toczydlowski informed Atanasio Sept. 17 that the referendum would not appear on the ballot.
Atanasio said he disagrees with the Student Activities decision to bar the referendum.
“In my opinion, it is the power and authority of the Senate to draft referenda and place them on the ballot,” he said. “The referendum would have been the best way to reach the most amount of people."
Toczydlowski said the issue comes down to the difference between a bill and a resolution in the SG Senate.
A bill from the Undergraduate Senate can be passed and directly affects something the SG has direct control over, such as budgeting or bylaw language.
A resolution is different than a bill in that it conveys SG support or disapproval of something the SG has no direct control over, such as University funds for the Student Health Center.
“If the Student Government wanted to show student support [for Health Center hours], it could’ve easily been done with a resolution,” Toczydlowski said.
amooney@theeagleonline.com
Correction: An earlier version of this article misidentified Andrew Toczydlowski as a program adviser. Toczydlowski is now Coordinator of Governance and Leadership for student activities.
