The UF Student Senate held its first-ever Senate Outreach Day on Tuesday, and the students who stayed for the three-and-a-half-hour meeting were treated to quite a show.
Several students came to the meeting - which had been moved to the Reitz Union Auditorium due to fire concerns - to protest the Senate's Fairness and Efficiency Act, which would grant the Senate president power to remove disruptive individuals from the chamber, give the judiciary committee power to kill legislation before it reached the Senate floor, shorten debate time for certain motions and raise the number of votes needed to approve certain motions.
Rules and Ethics chairman Severin Walstad said the bill passed 64-4-1, with Senate President Micah Lewis abstaining from the vote. Senators Gillian Leytham, Carly Wilson, Kevin Kleponis and Roberta Roberts voted against it.
The bill was amended to keep language in the rules requiring senators' voting records online. Votes that were being changed to require two-thirds of the Senate were changed to three-fifths, and those in danger of being ejected from meetings are now required to receive two warnings beforehand.
There is still no definition of disruptive behavior. It is up to the Senate president to determine who is disruptive.
"I view that clause as sort of a last resort," Lewis said. "There are measures within the Rules and Procedures to ensure senators are engaging in respectful debate, and I view this as just another deterrent from engaging in disrespectful debate that is not acceptable to the Senate chambers."
When asked about possibility of a Senate president removing individuals based on his or her opinion on issues, Lewis said a Senate president would be violating his or her duty.
"I'm not going to pretend I don't have an opinion on every piece of legislation that comes through the Senate," he said. "I'm a human being, I do have an opinion, but it is my duty to separate my opinions from the debate that's occurring when I'm presiding over Senate meetings."
Kleponis, a minority senator, also attempted to bring forth 55 subpoenas for Executive Cabinet appointees. He said he wanted the appointees to come before the Senate and give reports.
The Unite Party senators spoke loudly against the group of subpoenas, which they deemed a drastic measure to try to find out what those in cabinet positions have been up to.
Student Body President Ben Meyers and Vice President Anthony Reynolds also stood up to debate the subpoenas, saying they would gladly answer questions about progress being made by the cabinet appointees. They too said the measure was unnecessary.
"This is simply absurd and dilatory," Meyers said regarding the subpoenas.
Kleponis's subpoenas failed, and he vowed to continue bringing them before the Senate.
He wasn't done bringing legislation to the floor. His next bill proposed election advertisement reform.
It would have called for more elaborate design of Student Government election notices and established rules for placement. He argued the new signs and placement would increase voter turnout.
However, Kleponis's role in the debate did not last long. When a senator attempted to cut short the debate and move to a vote, Kleponis jumped down from behind the lectern and stormed out of the chambers. He did not return, and the bill failed.
"When they won't even let me present a bill to increase voter turnout at SG elections, there's little purpose in trying to continue working through the legislative process," Kleponis said. "They were gonna fail the bill. There was no reason to stick around and watch it get voted down."
Wilson said after the meeting she plans to disaffiliate with the Unite Party and become an independent senator.
"It is a sad day when the Senate acknowledges a bill hurts the minority party then votes on it anyway, tries to shut out a constituent who tried to speak and voted against measures to improve the election turnout because we are scared it will affect results," she said, addressing the senators shortly before the meeting was adjourned.
Two other bills were passed at the meeting, including one that gives $3,900 to fund materials required to host Humans vs. Zombies games on campus. University Police requires players to clearly identify themselves as being involved in the game, and SG is funding reusable armbands for the game.
A resolution also passed requesting that service to campus from Gainesville Regional Airport be extended.
