Illinois Student Senate postpones decision on Weber
April 9, 2009
Illinois Student Senate postponed a decision on whether to remove Dan Weber from his post as a student senator in LAS.
A decision to remove Dan Weber, student senator and sophomore in LAS, from his position as chair of the senate’s environmental sustainability committee was deferred at Wednesday’s Illinois Student Senate meeting.
Justin Umlah, senator and graduate student, was among those in favor of ousting Weber.
“His image is tarnished when he speaks on behalf of the senate,” Umlah said. “All of the good work he did can still be done, there’s just a different public face to be used.”
Vikram Chaudhery, external vice president, said Weber had a right to retain his position.
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“He goes beyond just his college and represents the University as a very integral part of this student senate,” Chaudhery said.
The decision was ultimately postponed to next week’s meeting.
One of the motivating factors behind this decision was to allow for a court judgment concerning charges brought against Weber, also scheduled for next Wednesday, to take place. Weber was deemed to have committed campaign infractions during his run for student trustee in March.
“I don’t believe this committee should be rushed to judgment on any issue,” said Carey Ash, senator and graduate student. “Let proper procedure and protocol run its course.”
In addition to the deferral, the senate reached several other decisions regarding new resolutions.
One item concerned a new protocol deciding that interviews for professional positions and educational institutions are an acceptible reason to be excused from attendance in class.
The resolution was approved in a vote of 12-1.
“I think this would be an absolutely fantastic thing,” said Jessica Remke, student senator and senior in LAS. “It’s a problem that we deal with a lot.”
In addition to this resolution, the senate also approved legislation calling for the city of Champaign or the University Division of Public Safety to monitor a crosswalk on Kirby St. between First and Fourth streets during periods of high pedestrian traffic.
