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Next year's Senate plans to create strict ethical standards
The new senators also plan to work on professionalism, a new system of budgeting and communication
by Jobetta Hedelman | Freelance Editor
As the members of the 2007-08 ASUO move into office, new senators say they plan to create ethical standards and work on a new system of budgeting.
Many new senators said their first order of business is creating a stricter standard of ethics and professionalism for the Senate. Sen. Neil Brown, who now serves in the Programs Finance Committee Senate Seat 3, was one of several new senators to say he would like to see ethics reform in the Senate right away.
"I think it's important that we take that issue and face it head-on and do something about it early so we don't get stuck in the same kind of problems we had this year," Brown said.
Sen. Noor Rajabzadeh, who took her position in Senate Seat 15 on May 2 following the resignation of former Sen. Jacob Daniels, also said she would like to see more professionalism within the Senate.
Sen. Kate Jones, the new representative for EMU Board Senate Seat 4, said she will be working on the summer Senate and will be writing an ethical code for the Senate.
She said she saw the need for reform in part because election rules are very stringent, but once people take office, they are not held to the same standards.
"A lot of what happened this year was unprofessional," Jones said. "I wanted to see that change. The Senate deserves to be treated with dignity."
Lee Warnecke, Senate Seat 11, agreed. Warnecke, who served as a Senate intern during winter term, said he wants to help correct the problems he saw in the Senate.
Warnecke said senators should be held more accountable for their actions and said there should be a more professional tone to meetings.
"I don't think Senate should be a circus like it was this year," he said. "What's important to me is to get in there and start doing the job."
Jones said the idea to write an ethical code came from following the Senate this year and being disappointed with what she saw. She said her fellow "Campaign for Change" candidates have encouraged her to write the code.
Many new senators said their first order of business is creating a stricter standard of ethics and professionalism for the Senate. Sen. Neil Brown, who now serves in the Programs Finance Committee Senate Seat 3, was one of several new senators to say he would like to see ethics reform in the Senate right away.
"I think it's important that we take that issue and face it head-on and do something about it early so we don't get stuck in the same kind of problems we had this year," Brown said.
Sen. Noor Rajabzadeh, who took her position in Senate Seat 15 on May 2 following the resignation of former Sen. Jacob Daniels, also said she would like to see more professionalism within the Senate.
Sen. Kate Jones, the new representative for EMU Board Senate Seat 4, said she will be working on the summer Senate and will be writing an ethical code for the Senate.
She said she saw the need for reform in part because election rules are very stringent, but once people take office, they are not held to the same standards.
"A lot of what happened this year was unprofessional," Jones said. "I wanted to see that change. The Senate deserves to be treated with dignity."
Lee Warnecke, Senate Seat 11, agreed. Warnecke, who served as a Senate intern during winter term, said he wants to help correct the problems he saw in the Senate.
Warnecke said senators should be held more accountable for their actions and said there should be a more professional tone to meetings.
"I don't think Senate should be a circus like it was this year," he said. "What's important to me is to get in there and start doing the job."
Jones said the idea to write an ethical code came from following the Senate this year and being disappointed with what she saw. She said her fellow "Campaign for Change" candidates have encouraged her to write the code.
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