Senate Agenda - EXHIBIT I - April 16, 1999
When Senate first began meeting in the A. Brandon Conron Hall in University College in January 1999, it was difficult to hear speakers because of loud fan noise. Since that time, the fans have been changed with the result that fan noise is no longer the problem. The acoustics of the room are such, however, that speakers who do not have forceful voices cannot be heard by the assembly, due to the ambient noise in the room. Senators who sit behind the person who is addressing the Chair have difficulty hearing what is being said.
Some suggestions that might be considered include:
| Reminder: Once recognized by the Chair, Senators who wish to address Senate should go to one of the side aisles in Conron Hall and turn to face the assembly when speaking. |
Pursuant to its general responsibility to supervise the operation of the Senate and make recommendations on rules of order, by-laws, change in committee functions, establishment of new standing or ad hoc committees, and other operational matters, and pursuant to its specific responsibility to review the role and operation of Standing Committees of Senate, OAC has established an ad hoc subcommittee of its Members to investigate an allegation made by a member of Senate regarding the operation of the Senate Review Board Academic and report its findings to the Operations/Agenda Committee.
Terms of Reference of Subcommittee:
Specifically, the subcommittee shall:
determine if the members of SRBA voted freely on the basis of the evidence before them, or if they felt that they had to vote, and did in fact vote, to grant the appeal because of a request or directive from "higher-ups in the Administration" (quote taken from Western News, February 18, 1999);
In undertaking the investigation, the subcommittee shall ensure that it complies with the restrictions set out in the University's Guidelines on Access to Information & Protection of Privacy regarding the disclosure of personal information. It shall also maintain, where possible, the confidentiality of the deliberations in its investigation and its report, while ensuring that it provides the Operations/Agenda committee with all relevant information for its consideration. The maintenance of confidentiality is especially important as this investigation was not requested by either the appellant or the respondent in the particular appeal hearing.
Composition:
The Chair of the Operations/Agenda Committee, who shall act as Chair of the subcommittee, and four members of the Operations/Agenda committee, one of whom shall be a student, elected from among and by the members of the Operations/Agenda committee who are elected to Senate.
The Composition of the Ad Hoc Subcommittee is as follows: