The Student Assembly will form a Committee on Procedure at its general meeting tonight to investigate the appointments of four new members to the general Assembly.
The Assembly voted to form the committee following the appointments of Lischa Barrett '95, Shakari Cameron '96, Sue Kim '96 and Nada Payne '96 to the general Assembly.
At the Assembly's first meeting two weeks ago, Secretary John Honovich '97 questioned the appointments on the basis that they are not in accordance with the Assembly's constitution.
But Assembly Vice President Rukmini Sichitiu '95 said she believes the appointments are valid, although the constitution is unclear on the point. As parliamentarian of the Assembly, Sichitiu has the ability to decide ambiguous matters of the constitution and two weeks ago she ruled that the appointments are legitimate.
The Committee on Procedure will investigate whether the four had met the Assembly's requirement of attendance at three general Assembly meetings before being eligible for appointment.
The committee is chaired by the Assembly's secretary, the position Honovich currently holds. Four members will be chosen by lot to serve on the committee.
Assembly President Danielle Moore '95 said the committee plans to meet this week, and a decision is expected by next Tuesday.
Two weeks ago Honovich questioned whether or not meetings the three appointees attended during Summer term fulfill the requirement.
The constitution states that the Summer Assembly serves "to function in the place of the Assembly that does not meet during the summer term." The constitution does not state that a summer Assembly meeting does not count as a general Assembly meeting.
Appointments to the general Assembly are made by the nominations committee, which is headed by Sichitiu.
Sichitiu defended the constitutionality of the appointments, arguing that the Summer Assembly is considered general Assembly because the Assembly's fiscal year begins every June. She said the constitution allows that she and Moore can preside over Summer term meetings if they are on campus.
