Allegheny students are set to get stronger with the introduction of a new weight exercise club and further debate on two constitutional amendments.
The Allegheny Student Government called their Tuesday, Feb. 21, General Assembly to order at 7:31 p.m. They officially approved Lift-Up as a club, proposed a new amendment and talked about disciplinary proceedings following last week’s emergency assembly on Wednesday, Feb. 15.
ASG President Veronica Green, ’23, opened with a statement regarding disciplinary action to be taken against ASG officials following the Wednesday, Feb. 15, emergency meeting.
“It’s been brought to my attention that some people in this room did not maintain their responsibility of holding their seat in this room, and did not honor their confidentiality agreement, and did not honor the fact that people’s personal experience is not theirs to talk about,” Green said.
Green’s role is to run the student legislature as the president of ASG, she explained, and in performing that role she and the current administration have done a lot to maintain and increase trust in ASG among the student body. To this point, she said, she believed ASG had done a good job.
“This room is about to get a lot more empty in the coming weeks, and I just want to say that I am disappointed in those individuals,” Green said.
Green said that Judicial Review Board complaints have been filed against the individuals, and that the Rules Committee is currently reviewing them. Article V Section 2, Subsection b, of the ASG constitution states that “Should the case be deemed to not have constitutional basis, the case shall end at the rules committee.”
If there is constitutional basis, the case will be brought before the conclave of the JRB — a group of three students appointed by the Attorney General. Members of ASG are not allowed membership on the JRB. Both the accuser and representatives of the accused will have an opportunity to present a case on the issue’s constitutionality before a decision is made.
“As we move forward in talking about both amendments tonight and the CILC (Culture, Identity and Leadership Coalition) constitution in the coming weeks, please understand that people’s personal experiences are not yours to have opinions on,” Green said.
“If they wanted to reach out for assistance in certain departments — if they wanted your personal commentary, they would have asked you for it. We were there to listen. We were not there to comment on whether or not it was credible, on whether or not you personally — we were not there to invalidate other people’s experiences. We were not there to share them with other people as well.”
A discussion totaling about 35 minutes took place in the midst of “new business,” as Director of the Treasury Adriana Solis, ’23, announced “Amendment 22-06.” This new amendment was a response to last week’s “Amendment 22-05.” Both amendments seek to add an eleventh article to the ASG constitution defining CILC membership. Class of 2023 President Shira Haus, a sponsor of the second proposal, referred to it as “the middle ground.”
“After the GA last week, some members of CILC organizations that were not able to attend the meeting kind of voiced their concerns about the amendment to me, and I believe, you know, as a ruling body, our job is to represent our constituents, and they were kind of worried about ASG having too much power over CILC status in general, especially since the IDEAS Center functions as, like, advising and overseeing CILC clubs in some ways,” Haus said.
Amendment 22-06 — which was authored by Solis and sponsored by Haus; Class of 2023 Vice President Jasmin Meyer Jaafari; Director of Communication and Press Kyrie Doniz, ’23; Class of 2024 Vice President London Dejarnette; Class of 2024 President Juliana James and Senator Hunter Goerman, ’25 — more explicitly states that both ASG and the IDEAS Center must approve when an organization seeks CILC status or when an organization’s CILC status is challenged.
Director of Diversity and Inclusion Jaelyn Valentin, ’25, worried that some CILC organizations would not be comfortable with Director of the IDEAS Center Lisa Nicole Smith having such a direct amount of control over CILC organizations as a result of the amendment.
Valentin went on to claim, without citing any specific evidence, that Smith has not read the CILC constitution and said Smith has not contacted her regarding needed revisions despite efforts to collaborate.
Smith did not immediately respond to a request for a comment Thursday.
“We all have a general understanding, have access to the CILC constitution, but you guys have read the CILC constitution, it is a hot f——- mess, pardon my French,” Valentin said.
Later in the conversation, both Green and Haus noted the impermanence of ASG as an institution, how the student government will always have a high turnover, and that it is the job of the government to make amendments that are clearly understandable for future cabinets.
After the discussion closed, Senator Gary Murray, ’26, put forward a motion to vote on amendment 22-05. The 7-7 vote on the motion, with two abstentions, failed because it required a supermajority, which was not met.
Amendment 22-06 was tabled, with Director of Community Relations William Lowthert, ’24, and Senator Lorenzo Scarnati, ’26, both suggesting at separate points in the discussion that the language be improved before voting ensues.
“So as of right now, the process for becoming a CILC organization or losing CILC status is still completely up to the director of the IDEAS Center?” asked co-Director of Student Affairs Cam Lesher, ’24.
“Yes,” ASG Vice President Rudra Schultz-Ray, ’23, responded.
In “unfinished business,” the assembly put Lift Up, a club which promotes inclusivity in strength-based sports and exercise, to its second round of voting. The club passed its second round of voting, with no nays and one abstention from Senator V Belcher, ’26.
“Your club is now existing,” Schultz-Ray said to Lift Up’s two representatives after the vote.
The assembly approved the use of $150 from the CILC fund for food purchased by the Association of Caribbean Students for their movie night, according to Solis.
Lowthert announced that he has been in communication with Meadville business Cup n’ Spoon to host a Boba Night on campus. Lowthert said the event would either be before or after spring break.
The meeting ended at 8:32 p.m., with Class of 2026 President Sam Ault abstaining from the motion to close the meeting.