The Student Assembly passed both a bylaw to enforce meeting attendance and a resolution to co-sponsor a forum on the Hanover Police Department's policy on "internal possession" of alcohol at its meeting last night.
The new bylaw states that a student who misses three Assembly or Standing Committee meetings in one term without being excused will be removed from the Assembly.
The Assembly president will determine whether an absence is excusable.
Assembly President Danielle Moore '95 spoke out strongly in favor of the bylaw, which is an attempt by the Assembly to solve its attendance problems.
"I think we need something instituted and I think we need it instituted now," she said.
Assembly Vice President Rukmini Sichitiu '95 said she thinks the new bylaw will prevent members from just coming to a meeting to vote on one important issue.
"The passage of this created some accountability. There needed to be some way to enforce membership," she said.
The bylaw was originally proposed as a Constitutional amendment last week but was tabled because not enough people showed up at the meeting to pass it. Constitutional amendments require a three-fourths vote of the Assembly.
Although three-fourths of the Assembly attended last night's meeting, not everyone planned to vote in favor of the amendment. The Assembly, therefore, voted to make it a bylaw, which only requires a two-thirds vote of the members present.
The Assembly also passed a resolution to co-sponsor a public forum to discuss the Hanover Police policy regarding alcohol consumption by minors.
"It's something students are concerned about and it's something on which students want action taken," said Assembly Secretary John Honovich '97, who sponsored the resolution. He said he wanted an event where the police department could explain its policy and students could voice their concerns.
At the beginning of the meeting, Director of Dining Services Pete Napoletano and DDS Associate Director Tucker Rossiter spoke to the Assembly about the new meal plan proposal.
