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EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA The Carolinian Volume XXXXVIII University of North Carolina at Greensboro, N. C— Friday, January 17, 1969 Number 24 Legislature Overrules Board's Decision To Validate Election Precedent h Established Four Hour Session Votes 47-35 "This particular session was extremely important in establishing a precedent for how this kind of problem would be handled by legislature," Dr. Margaret Hunt, Legislature advisor, said of the special session of legislature. "I'm very pleased with the conduct of the legislators themselves. I thought that most of them were concerned with trying to find the facts and with trying to resolve an extremely complicated problem." She further commented, "I think that the proceedings were conducted impartially, and I think that the session also revealed several problems which the legislature might want to handle in the future." During the special session of Legislature, Dr. Hunt addressed the representatives. In her address, she told them that there were several interpretations possible of the section concerning appeals to legislature of Elections Board's decisions. She informed the body that they could either consider itself as a judicial body or as a fact finding body. "The real purpose in this kind of meeting," she stated, "is for the legislative body to find out what the facts are." Dr. Hunt also said that she felt that aince the Legislature had approved the Elections Board and had approved iu policy, then it can be said that the Elections Board is an agent of Legislature. Therefore, it can act instead of its agent. She finally urged the representatives to base their decisions on the evidence presented in the session, not on opinions of proposals involved or attitudes toward people involved. Ketner Resigns Due To Outside Pressures "I have not resigned from caring; I have just released a title," stated Linda Ketner, Freshman Class President, in a recent interview with the Carolinian. Miss Ketner explained that she wished to continue working with the student government in any way she could. Asked to state the reasons for her resignation, Miss Ketner replied, "I'm so exhausted from outside pressures that I do not wish to comment further and I think I can be more effective outaide this imposed situation." Miss Ketner added that her final decision had nothing to do with the GIC issue. "I wish I could do something to expose the pressures exerted on me, but most of the pressures have been done anonymously and there have already been enough rumors and lies on this campus. Additional comment from me would further complicate the situation." Miss Ketner turned in her resignation to SGA President Randi Bryant on Friday, January 10, but Miss Bryant has not yet officially accepted the resignation. Miai Ketner does, however, consider her term of office ended. Miss Bryant commented on Linda Ketner's resignation. "I think it's very unfortunate that a person of Linda Ketner's obvious ability and integrity should feel pressured into resigning. She's done, for all I can tell, a tremendous job in her office and I hate to see such potential as she has displayed wasted. I think it's a shame she's resigning. She has been subject to what I would consider some very unfair treatment." Miss Bryant added that she knew of no one who could have withstood such pressure and that she did not consider Linda exceptionally weak (because she had to yield to these pressures). "In fact," Misi Bryant continued, "I consider her exceptionally strong, but the pressures were exceptionally great." How the position will be filled will be determined by Miss Bryant. The alternatives are an election or an appointment by the SGA President, according to the Bylaws of the Student Government Association. Miss Ketner wished to assure the Freshman Class that their programs would continue. She explained that twenty-nine such programs were now in the works, eighteen of which were originated this year, which are concerned with such areas as educational reform, town students, community projects, incoming freshmen, and increasing enrollments and funds at UNC-G. The conventional class government has already been restructed into a seven board executive council in order to produce more efficient government. The programs are firmly established and will be continued. Miss Ketner stated, "We now have a concrete foundation and there is no earthly reason why the Freshman Class can't be one of the most active and effective classes on campus." Miss Ketner did issue an By NANCY MOORE Assistant News Editor In an unprecedented action, Legislature Tuesday night overruled the refusal of the Elections Board to invalidate the January 9 referendum. Provision was made for another referendum to be held within four weeks of the beginning of second semester. The four hour special session of Legislature met to hear an appeals of an Elections Board decision. The Elections Board on Friday, January 10. denied the contestment of the preceding day's referendum. The referendum involved two issues; the first being acceptance of the Greensboro Inter-Collegiate Council's Constitution and the second concerning the responsibility . of legislative representatives. The contestment presented by William J. Burckley, John L. Pinnix, Jean Titus, Beth Bolin, and John A. Robinson, Jr., was based on the grounds that the election was not conducted under the Elections Board policy and that gross irregularities occurred. After the contestment was denied, this same group, with the exclusion of Mr. Pinnix and with the addition of Miss Sarah Barnhill, then appealed the decision of the Elections Board to Legislature. This sppeal was made under the authority of Section M of the General Policy of the Elections Board, which states that appeals of the Elections Board's decisions shall be heard and ruled upon by Legislature. The following is a chronological account of the appeal to legislature: The session began when Pam Greer, Chairman of Legislature, outlined the procedure for the evening. She stated that the meeting would be conducted in the form of an investigative committee, in that both the contestors and the Elections Board would each have a 30-minute debate period, with each member speaking being subject to questioning after they spoke. After this presentation there was to be a general query period, to be followed by fifteen minutes of general debate. The house rules were suspended so that Dr. Margaret Hunt, faculty advisor to Legislature, could speak to the representatives. She stated that she was not partisan, but only concerned with the integrity of the legislature as a body. She referred to the session as a'grave responsibility since any sction would set a precedent because such a situation had never occurred before. The house rules were again suspended so that non-representatives could speak. All members of the Elections Board who were present at the original contestment hearing and ;j;'x*x-x'X'X\.x:::x'::x*:'x*&^ The following is the text of the two motions introduced by Mary Knight at a special session of Legislature held on Tuesday January 14, 1968. (1) "Legislature overrules Elections Board's decision and declares the election of Jan. 9, 1969 invalid and demands that Elections Board set a date for the referendum to be rescheduled within 4 weeks after 2nd semester of the 1968-69 school beginning." passed 47-35. (2) "That the chairman of Legislature shall appoint a committee to review election board policy and that said committee report to legislature by the first election of any type." passed by unanimous consent. ! SttttgMftfittttttmffittaMH^^ certain members of the group contesting were allowed the right to speak. Elizabeth Bolin spoke first, arguing for the appeal. Miss Bolin said that the Elections Board decision did not represent the entire campus opinion. She felt that violations of the Elections Board policy had been ignored, and that the students should be given the opportunity for another referendum. Dale Presson, chairman of the Elections Board, spoke against the appeal. She reported that seven of the ten members of Elections Board were present at the contestment and that all members had been notified of the hearing. She then continued to read the majority report submitted to the Legislature. She also stated that each member of the Elections Board entered the hearing with the realization of their responsibility •a impartial jurors. She concluded, "The burden of proof rested with the contestors." William Burckley then spoke in favor of the appeal. He referred the representatives to the Elections Board statement that "Since the Elections Policy (section I.A.) differentiates between an election and a referendum, the regulations concerning campaigning for elections would not apply to the referendum." Mr. Burckley went on to note that if "referendum" and "elections" were used interchangeably in certain instances, such ss students confined to the infirmary being able to vote in a referendum as well as in an election, then they should be used interchangeably in all instances. John Robinson then spoke in favor of the appeal. According to Mr. Robinson, the Board had previously admitted in discussion that irregularities had occurred, and such difficulties should be sufficient grounds to invalidate the election. Miss Sarah Barnhill then spoke in favor of the appeal, stating that her statement of appeal would speak for itself. John Pinnix then spoke in favor of the appeal. Jim Lancaster then spoke against the appeal. He read definitions from a letter from a Greensboro lawyer, to whom information concerning the contestment and subsequent sppeal were submitted for clarification by Legislature representative Erskine Walther. Randy Friddle then spoke against the appeal, clarifying the Board's position on the campaign material that was supposedly within fifteen feel of the polling place, which is not allowed by Elections Board policy. Mr. Friddle stated that on two occasions, at 8:30 and at 10:00, the dorms were checked for literature within the restricted area and any literature found there was removed to beyond fifteen feet. At approximately 11 30 p.m. a five minute recess was called. During the query period that followed, several points were brought to the attention of the assembly. Miss Presson stated that the reasons for the denial of the contestment were contained in the second page of her report to Legislature. Miss Presson also stated that there were "gross irregularities", but these were not considered by the Elections Board to be sufficient grounds to invalidate the election. In the general debate period that followed this, a motion was made by Miss Mary Knight that Legislature overrule the Elections Board decision and call for a new election. After discussion, which included passage of an amendment which extended the time limit from two to four weeks after the beginning of the first semester, a stand up vote was taken of the representatives. The motion passed, 47-35. Miss Knight then proposed a second motion calling for the Chairman of Legislature to appoint a committee to review the Elections Board policy and that said committee would report before the next election. This motion passed unanimously. Pam Greer, Chairman of Legislature then announced that interviews for legislative committees, including the special committee to investigate the Elections Board policy, would be held Monday, January 20, at 7 10 p.m. Interviews are open to any student.
Object Description
Title | The Carolinian [January 17, 1969] |
Date | 1969-01-17 |
Editor/creator | Pinnix, John, L. |
Subject headings | University of North Carolina at Greensboro--Newspapers;College student newspapers and periodicals-- North Carolina--Greensboro;Student publications--North Carolina--Greensboro;Student activities--North Carolina--History |
Place | Greensboro (N.C.) |
Description | The January 17, 1969, issue of The Carolinian, the student newspaper of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. |
Type | Text |
Original format | Newspapers |
Original publisher | Greensboro, N.C. : The University of North Carolina at Greensboro |
Language | eng |
Contributing institution | Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries |
Publication | The Carolinian |
Rights statement | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/ |
Additional rights information | NO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATES. This item has been determined to be free of copyright restrictions in the United States. The user is responsible for determining actual copyright status for any reuse of the material. |
Object ID | 1969-01-17-carolinian |
Date digitized | 2011 |
Digital publisher | The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries |
Digitized by | Creekside Digital |
Sponsor | Lyrasis Members and Sloan Foundation |
OCLC number | 871558592 |
Page/Item Description
Title | Page 1 |
Full text | EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA The Carolinian Volume XXXXVIII University of North Carolina at Greensboro, N. C— Friday, January 17, 1969 Number 24 Legislature Overrules Board's Decision To Validate Election Precedent h Established Four Hour Session Votes 47-35 "This particular session was extremely important in establishing a precedent for how this kind of problem would be handled by legislature" Dr. Margaret Hunt, Legislature advisor, said of the special session of legislature. "I'm very pleased with the conduct of the legislators themselves. I thought that most of them were concerned with trying to find the facts and with trying to resolve an extremely complicated problem." She further commented, "I think that the proceedings were conducted impartially, and I think that the session also revealed several problems which the legislature might want to handle in the future." During the special session of Legislature, Dr. Hunt addressed the representatives. In her address, she told them that there were several interpretations possible of the section concerning appeals to legislature of Elections Board's decisions. She informed the body that they could either consider itself as a judicial body or as a fact finding body. "The real purpose in this kind of meeting" she stated, "is for the legislative body to find out what the facts are." Dr. Hunt also said that she felt that aince the Legislature had approved the Elections Board and had approved iu policy, then it can be said that the Elections Board is an agent of Legislature. Therefore, it can act instead of its agent. She finally urged the representatives to base their decisions on the evidence presented in the session, not on opinions of proposals involved or attitudes toward people involved. Ketner Resigns Due To Outside Pressures "I have not resigned from caring; I have just released a title" stated Linda Ketner, Freshman Class President, in a recent interview with the Carolinian. Miss Ketner explained that she wished to continue working with the student government in any way she could. Asked to state the reasons for her resignation, Miss Ketner replied, "I'm so exhausted from outside pressures that I do not wish to comment further and I think I can be more effective outaide this imposed situation." Miss Ketner added that her final decision had nothing to do with the GIC issue. "I wish I could do something to expose the pressures exerted on me, but most of the pressures have been done anonymously and there have already been enough rumors and lies on this campus. Additional comment from me would further complicate the situation." Miss Ketner turned in her resignation to SGA President Randi Bryant on Friday, January 10, but Miss Bryant has not yet officially accepted the resignation. Miai Ketner does, however, consider her term of office ended. Miss Bryant commented on Linda Ketner's resignation. "I think it's very unfortunate that a person of Linda Ketner's obvious ability and integrity should feel pressured into resigning. She's done, for all I can tell, a tremendous job in her office and I hate to see such potential as she has displayed wasted. I think it's a shame she's resigning. She has been subject to what I would consider some very unfair treatment." Miss Bryant added that she knew of no one who could have withstood such pressure and that she did not consider Linda exceptionally weak (because she had to yield to these pressures). "In fact" Misi Bryant continued, "I consider her exceptionally strong, but the pressures were exceptionally great." How the position will be filled will be determined by Miss Bryant. The alternatives are an election or an appointment by the SGA President, according to the Bylaws of the Student Government Association. Miss Ketner wished to assure the Freshman Class that their programs would continue. She explained that twenty-nine such programs were now in the works, eighteen of which were originated this year, which are concerned with such areas as educational reform, town students, community projects, incoming freshmen, and increasing enrollments and funds at UNC-G. The conventional class government has already been restructed into a seven board executive council in order to produce more efficient government. The programs are firmly established and will be continued. Miss Ketner stated, "We now have a concrete foundation and there is no earthly reason why the Freshman Class can't be one of the most active and effective classes on campus." Miss Ketner did issue an By NANCY MOORE Assistant News Editor In an unprecedented action, Legislature Tuesday night overruled the refusal of the Elections Board to invalidate the January 9 referendum. Provision was made for another referendum to be held within four weeks of the beginning of second semester. The four hour special session of Legislature met to hear an appeals of an Elections Board decision. The Elections Board on Friday, January 10. denied the contestment of the preceding day's referendum. The referendum involved two issues; the first being acceptance of the Greensboro Inter-Collegiate Council's Constitution and the second concerning the responsibility . of legislative representatives. The contestment presented by William J. Burckley, John L. Pinnix, Jean Titus, Beth Bolin, and John A. Robinson, Jr., was based on the grounds that the election was not conducted under the Elections Board policy and that gross irregularities occurred. After the contestment was denied, this same group, with the exclusion of Mr. Pinnix and with the addition of Miss Sarah Barnhill, then appealed the decision of the Elections Board to Legislature. This sppeal was made under the authority of Section M of the General Policy of the Elections Board, which states that appeals of the Elections Board's decisions shall be heard and ruled upon by Legislature. The following is a chronological account of the appeal to legislature: The session began when Pam Greer, Chairman of Legislature, outlined the procedure for the evening. She stated that the meeting would be conducted in the form of an investigative committee, in that both the contestors and the Elections Board would each have a 30-minute debate period, with each member speaking being subject to questioning after they spoke. After this presentation there was to be a general query period, to be followed by fifteen minutes of general debate. The house rules were suspended so that Dr. Margaret Hunt, faculty advisor to Legislature, could speak to the representatives. She stated that she was not partisan, but only concerned with the integrity of the legislature as a body. She referred to the session as a'grave responsibility since any sction would set a precedent because such a situation had never occurred before. The house rules were again suspended so that non-representatives could speak. All members of the Elections Board who were present at the original contestment hearing and ;j;'x*x-x'X'X\.x:::x'::x*:'x*&^ The following is the text of the two motions introduced by Mary Knight at a special session of Legislature held on Tuesday January 14, 1968. (1) "Legislature overrules Elections Board's decision and declares the election of Jan. 9, 1969 invalid and demands that Elections Board set a date for the referendum to be rescheduled within 4 weeks after 2nd semester of the 1968-69 school beginning." passed 47-35. (2) "That the chairman of Legislature shall appoint a committee to review election board policy and that said committee report to legislature by the first election of any type." passed by unanimous consent. ! SttttgMftfittttttmffittaMH^^ certain members of the group contesting were allowed the right to speak. Elizabeth Bolin spoke first, arguing for the appeal. Miss Bolin said that the Elections Board decision did not represent the entire campus opinion. She felt that violations of the Elections Board policy had been ignored, and that the students should be given the opportunity for another referendum. Dale Presson, chairman of the Elections Board, spoke against the appeal. She reported that seven of the ten members of Elections Board were present at the contestment and that all members had been notified of the hearing. She then continued to read the majority report submitted to the Legislature. She also stated that each member of the Elections Board entered the hearing with the realization of their responsibility •a impartial jurors. She concluded, "The burden of proof rested with the contestors." William Burckley then spoke in favor of the appeal. He referred the representatives to the Elections Board statement that "Since the Elections Policy (section I.A.) differentiates between an election and a referendum, the regulations concerning campaigning for elections would not apply to the referendum." Mr. Burckley went on to note that if "referendum" and "elections" were used interchangeably in certain instances, such ss students confined to the infirmary being able to vote in a referendum as well as in an election, then they should be used interchangeably in all instances. John Robinson then spoke in favor of the appeal. According to Mr. Robinson, the Board had previously admitted in discussion that irregularities had occurred, and such difficulties should be sufficient grounds to invalidate the election. Miss Sarah Barnhill then spoke in favor of the appeal, stating that her statement of appeal would speak for itself. John Pinnix then spoke in favor of the appeal. Jim Lancaster then spoke against the appeal. He read definitions from a letter from a Greensboro lawyer, to whom information concerning the contestment and subsequent sppeal were submitted for clarification by Legislature representative Erskine Walther. Randy Friddle then spoke against the appeal, clarifying the Board's position on the campaign material that was supposedly within fifteen feel of the polling place, which is not allowed by Elections Board policy. Mr. Friddle stated that on two occasions, at 8:30 and at 10:00, the dorms were checked for literature within the restricted area and any literature found there was removed to beyond fifteen feet. At approximately 11 30 p.m. a five minute recess was called. During the query period that followed, several points were brought to the attention of the assembly. Miss Presson stated that the reasons for the denial of the contestment were contained in the second page of her report to Legislature. Miss Presson also stated that there were "gross irregularities", but these were not considered by the Elections Board to be sufficient grounds to invalidate the election. In the general debate period that followed this, a motion was made by Miss Mary Knight that Legislature overrule the Elections Board decision and call for a new election. After discussion, which included passage of an amendment which extended the time limit from two to four weeks after the beginning of the first semester, a stand up vote was taken of the representatives. The motion passed, 47-35. Miss Knight then proposed a second motion calling for the Chairman of Legislature to appoint a committee to review the Elections Board policy and that said committee would report before the next election. This motion passed unanimously. Pam Greer, Chairman of Legislature then announced that interviews for legislative committees, including the special committee to investigate the Elections Board policy, would be held Monday, January 20, at 7 10 p.m. Interviews are open to any student. |