The United States Senate goes into executive session when it is considering presidential appointments. The Senate recognizes that it will be held accountable for its final decision on each nominee and therefore wants discussion to be as thorough and uninhibited as possible. The body realizes that senators may censor themselves under the scrutiny of the press, and all of the applicable facts beneficial to confirming a candidate may not be laid out on the table.
In the last (Northeastern) Joint Senate, I moved to go into executive session only for the speakers for and against parliamentarian candidate Michael DeRamo. Each senator in the Student Government Association (SGA) represents fifty students, and these students have trusted their respective senator to make informed decisions on their behalf. By allowing all the senators to speak freely about DeRamo without being concerned with coverage in the press, we would be encouraging senators to speak without hesitation. Then the senators, on behalf of their constituents, could make the most informed decision on whether or not DeRamo would be the best person to represent the student body as parliamentarian.
SGA recognizes our commitment to the student body, and constantly has it on the top of our agenda. We are dedicated to guaranteeing the best candidates are always representing all 14,000 undergraduates. This year, we will be performing an exhaustive public relations campaign to ensure that the student body knows everything possible about our proceedings to make the most educated vote for student body president. We applaud the Northeastern News for constantly holding us accountable for our actions, but hope the student body recognizes that, before all else, we want to serve you all to the best of our abilities. The best way to do that in Joint Senate – for the discussion on DeRamo – would have been behind closed doors without the “light of public scrutiny.”
– Krystal Beaulieu is the Student Government Association vice president for administration and public relations
Editor’s Note: It is a Northeastern News policy not to report on anything said during the “for and against” portion of SGA elections.
