In an emergency joint session on Wednesday, Oct. 25, Student Union (SU) Treasury and Senate passed the fall 2023 Election Packet, a constitutional amendment, and a proposed statutory change regarding election policies and medical leaves of absence (MLOA). This followed a joint session on Tuesday, Oct. 24, during which the two bodies failed to pass a statutory change and Election Packet. 

The statutory change that was passed says that people planning to take an MLOA during their term will be able to run for SU elections, which SU did not previously allow.

The constitutional amendment states that if a representative takes MLOA, the candidate receiving the most votes, who was not elected to SU, will fill that role for the duration of the representative’s MLOA.

During the joint session on Oct. 24, the bodies passed a constitutional amendment that students will vote on in the fall 2023 election to change the appointment procedure for representatives who are replacing those on MLOA. The amendment says that individuals appointed to fill in for representatives on MLOA will serve until the representative on MLOA returns, instead of for the full remainder of their term. This exempts SU candidates from the current qualifications requiring them to serve the duration of their term.

Debate during the Oct. 24 meeting surrounding the Election Packet and the statutory change centered around disability justice and accessibility in the SU election process, which sophomore Sonal Churiwal, Diversity and Inclusion Chair, and junior Braeden Rose, Health and Wellness Chair, who both introduced the change, said currently discriminates against students.

“Candidates for legislative office taking a medical leave of absence for a portion of their term shall be exempt from this qualification, and be permitted to have an interim appointed,” the statutory change reads.

The amended motion for the statutory change passed in Senate but failed to reach the necessary two-thirds majority in Treasury, Oct. 24. As of Oct. 25, the statutory change is included in the Election Packet.

SU President Emily Chen said that due to University policies, there is likely to be little short-term progress made with MLOA.

“The primary part that affects SU is that when you’re taking a medical leave, you are not an enrolled student at the University,” Chen said. “And at that time, because you’re not paying tuition or the Student Activities Fee, you are not allowed to participate in any student group activities, which includes SU.” 

Chen also gave Churiwal the option of deciding each MLOA decision on a case-by-case basis, but according to Chen, Churiwal opted for the statutory change.

Churiwal noted that dealing with MLOA on a case-by-case basis would not fully solve issues regarding accessibility. Churiwal also said that turnover in SU leadership would make creating a consistent case-by-case policy for MLOA exceptions challenging.

“For students who are newly looking to get involved in Student Union, it’s not that easy to [find out] who the right person in Student Union would be to talk to [about making the] exception on a case-by-case basis,” Churiwal said.

Debate then turned to the fall 2023 Election Packet. The packet governs the rules for SU elections, including how candidates can finance their campaigns and receive endorsements from student groups and SU officials.

Without the statutory change, Senators, such as Rose, felt uncomfortable supporting an Election Packet they claimed to be inequitable.

“I’m not comfortable voting to kickstart an election that we know will not be equitable for disabled students,” Rose said on Oct. 24.

Churiwal, the co-sponsor of the statutory change, agreed with Rose and urged senators not to vote for the Election Packet, as she alleged the election would be discriminatory by not allowing students intending to take MLOA to run.

Tensions ran high during the Oct. 24 meeting as Senators and Treasury representatives voted against each other on every issue except the constitutional amendment, which both bodies approved.

Chen, who ran on the platform of unifying the SU Senate and Treasury, said that some of these divides are exacerbated by peer pressure. 

“It is difficult in that setting when all your friends think one way and then like you don’t want to be alienated by them, or be judged by them for one decision,” Chen said.

After the Oct. 24 meeting, Rose said that he hoped both bodies would work together to pass an equitable Election Packet, which was passed on Oct. 25.

“I think that this is a very simple and easy resolution,” Rose said. “I’m a little surprised actually that it ended up being debated on for so long. I can recognize that things need to be carefully considered, but it does seem to be one of those things that doesn’t need to be debated [for] multiple days.”

Churiwal said that representatives should be mindful of how the language they use in SU meetings can affect people.

“I think just portraying students’ realities as a logistical nightmare is extremely dehumanizing,” Churiwal said. “That is our job as Student Union representatives to represent and advocate for students, no matter how nightmarish that is.”