In a Student Senate afflicted by resignations and a student government with traditionally few applicants to replace vacancies, an overqualified student should be quickly welcomed to fill an open seat.
The Senate has the chance to do that this week by confirming Xavier Aranda to a seat representing many social science majors.
The seat has been vacant since the beginning of September. Aranda, an ethnic studies major, was appointed to the seat last week but Senate failed to confirm him because of ambiguities in ASUO rules. He is part of the National Student Exchange, a not-for-profit consortium that allows students in the U.S. and Canada to swap colleges. Some senators questioned whether Aranda is eligible to represent his fellow ethnic studies majors because National Student Exchange students are constituents of the Senate seat that predominately represents journalism students.
The most likely logical explanations, if there are any, for combining national exchange students and journalism students in the same constituency is to ensure each senator represents a roughly equal number of students. Or perhaps it has something to do with the way the registrar’s office classifies these students and how that affects their ability to vote in campus elections.
Neither of these explanations are satisfying reasons to reject Aranda’s appointment if the Constitution Court has not deemed him ineligible. Students with double majors are allowed to represent either of their majors. Former Sen. Mikey Broetzmann, also a national exchange student, told reporters this week that he cannot recall voting for an academic senate seat. This means something in the system went awry, or even a sitting ASUO senator was unaware that he should be paying attention to the race for the journalism school’s seat when he wasn’t a journalism major.
It may be difficult for the Senate, the executive or the court to figure out why the seats were configured this way. The court will have a chance to try to sort this out now that Sen. Lyzi Diamond and the executive have asked for clarification on Aranda’s eligibility. The court will also reapportion seats this year, and should give serious consideration to whether national exchange students need collective representation or if they have far more in common with students who share their majors.
Meanwhile, social science students have no one representing them as the Senate doles out student dollars, begins its budget season and faces pending votes on resolutions that express the sentiment of the student body on pressing issues. Most senators agree the ideal Senate is one where every seat is filled, and an overwhelming majority clearly believe Aranda is well-suited to join them.
His credentials are extensive. He has years of experience in student activism and comes with certificates of appreciation from state and federal legislators for his work with underrepresented communities.
If the court were to declare Aranda ineligible to occupy the seat to which he has been appointed, he would obviously need to remove himself from the position. However, it is disconcerting that the Senate felt the need to consult a court before acting. Senators are elected to make decisions without and before receiving permission from an unelected court.
The Senate will have more power once it has the courage to exercise some. Aranda seems to be a student unafraid of speaking his mind, and Senate should confirm him immediately.
