After the release of issue two, The Knight News reached out to the office of Student Development and Leadership, along with the dean and vice president of student affairs to inquire as to what was being done about the potentially fabricated Student Association senate meeting minutes.
The office of communications responded on behalf of Vice President Adam Rockman, stating that “he felt that the questions raised” from our article, were “enough to warrant an investigation.”
As stated, “VP Rockman had the meeting reconvened on October 10, 2017. A member of the Student Affairs Leadership Team then followed up by conducting dozens of electronic, telephone, and in-person interviews, the results of which were inconclusive.”
Furthermore, “Actions by members of several organizations did come to light that—in deference to open meeting laws—have led the college to now publicly announce all Student Senate meetings well in advance of their scheduled date.”
The office added that “Provisions must also be made for at least one administrator from the Office of Student Development and Leadership to attend each meeting. The college will also hold training sessions for elected student leaders that focus on the ethics of leadership and encourage elected members of all student organizations to attend.”
The Knight News requested as to what statement VP Rockman would like to provide to the student body regarding regarding the fabricated meeting minutes. He responded stating, “Ensuring that our students participate in activities that are conducted equitably and openly for everyone involved is among our highest priorities and an integral part of a Queens College education. We have enacted new guidelines that we believe will accomplish this, as well as provide our students with the tools they need to lead effectively and ethically in their roles at Queens College and as citizens.”
Dean John Andrejack responded to The Knight News on behalf of himself and the Office of Student Development and Leadership director Dwayne D. Jones, stating that “the college will issue an official reply on the student Senate meeting of June 13.”
The Knight News is awaiting said statement prior to the publication of this article.
Furthermore, after requesting all records of Student Senate meetings from April 2017 to now, The Knight News received no record of meeting minutes—only being told that there is one record of a Student Senate meeting, that which was called to approve the contents of the fabricated minutes.
When looking into the contents of the Student Association constitution, The Knight News discovered a plausible reason for inquiry regarding their 2017-2018 budget.
As stated in Article IV: Student Association Finances, section 2 of the Queens College Student Association Constitution, “This [Student Association] budget may be amended by a majority vote of the Senate. The final budget shall be approved by a majority vote of the Senate. No new funds may be spent by SA without a budget having been approved for the budget period in which those funds are to be disbursed. The Senate may, at any time, amend a previously adopted budget, so long as the budget items being amended have not already been encumbered or expended.”
Under this term, and because there is no record of Student Senate meeting minutes, The Knight News has come to the assumption that Student Association has been spending their 2017-2018 budget without student senate consent, violating the terms of their constitution.
After coming to this conclusion, The Knight News will be awaiting, once again, for further action by Student Association, along with the Office of Student Development and Leadership.
