Charge S-0107:  Review the “University Senate Guidelines Regarding Special Student Organizations” and recommend revisions where needed.  Include recommendations for clarifying any ambiguities, particularly as may arise when a referendum fails on one or more campuses.  Recommend revised language wherever possible.

Background:  The Rutgers Daily Targum requested that they be allowed to repeat the referendum at Livingston College after the referendum in Spring 2001 failed because the voter turnout requirements were not met.  Although it was apparently the intent of the Guidelines that referenda be conducted every three years, the language is not explicit.  This was considered in Summer 2001 by EC, who decided that the Targum could not hold a new referendum.  However, this charge was issued because the EC felt that the ambiguous language should be clarified.  The Targum also raised the issue of whether it could conduct new referenda in divisions that did not vote the first time (e.g. University College).

Committee Discussion and Response:  The committee considered this request and reviewed the Referendum Guidelines.  Members agreed that the language regarding the timing of referenda is unclear, but felt that the intention was that a referendum be conducted every three years.  Co-Chair Scott communicated with a representative of the Targum Board of Directors, who initially asked to address the committee to present their case for repeating the referendum at Livingston.  However, since the guidelines require that the organization submit a proposal the first week of the semester preceding the semester in which the referendum is to be conducted, the earliest a new referendum could be conducted would be Spring 2004.  This is when the referendum would ordinarily be conducted in the normal three-year cycle, so the Targum declined to pursue the matter further.  Nevertheless, the committee feels that the timing of referenda should be clarified, and accordingly recommends the following:

Recommendation:  Our interpretation of the guidelines as they were intended is that student organizations should conduct referenda once every three years and that the results of these referenda in each unit shall determine the fee collected from the students of that unit for three years.  Language revising the guidelines will be recommended by the committee next year after a thorough review of the guidelines.

Recommendation:  We further request that the charge be continued in order to allow thorough consideration of other issues in the guidelines and formulation of language for the revisions.