A recent lawsuit alleges the highest body of Arizona State University’s student government, the Associated Students of Arizona State University Council of Presidents, failed to record meeting minutes for almost a year.
The council, which weighs in on a variety of issues ranging from tuition fees to budget requests, conceded to the lawsuit. It put out a statement Thursday stating it will develop a better system to provide greater transparency.
“On March 12th, the Council of Presidents and 177 members of the Associated Students of Arizona State University received notice that they were in violation of the Constitution. This violation is due to the error on the Council’s part in not posting meeting minutes from their meetings,” the council said in a statement.
The council said a clerk post would be established in the statement, and also gave specific requirements to when minutes would be posted.
Leaders on ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus supported the lawsuit and called for more transparency. Undergraduate Student Government Downtown President Jackson Dangremond, who is part of the council, supported the lawsuit by calling for accountability.
“The lawsuit truly is important in making sure that the Council of Presidents is not only held accountable this year, but for future years to come,” Dangremond said. “Having meeting minutes and having agendas are super important in not only being transparent but also keeping people informed. It’s just important to know what your elected representatives are up to.”
The Council of Presidents consists of five members: the four Undergraduate Student Government presidents from the ASU Tempe, West, Polytechnic and Downtown Phoenix campuses and the graduate student government president.
The Associated Students of ASU constitution requires the council to record its minutes for every meeting that takes place.
The lawsuit was prepared by former USGD member Ryan Boyd*. Yasmin Alvarado, senator for the College of Public Service in the Downtown Phoenix campus, formally signed the lawsuit into action March 13.
“I came to the realization that this was a huge problem,” Alvarado said. “I found out there wasn’t really a designated person to [take minutes]. The fact that this has been going on for a long time; I find it very unprofessional.”
This is not the first time the student government has come under fire for lack of transparency, nor is it the first time that Boyd has sued USG. In 2017, the Supreme Court of the Associated Students of ASU supported Boyd’s lawsuit that challenged the holding of informal student government meetings.
Dangremond said he took meeting minutes in his first presidential tenure, but as he became more involved in student government he found it impossible to continue to do both minutes and propose ideas. Dangremond said he also mentioned the lack of minutes to his adviser and to the Council of Presidents adviser Dan Ashlock.
“Going through the process of oral arguments, while some could argue could be fun, it’s better to openly admit the error and then not only implement corrective actions but implement new policies that will make the council more open and transparent,” Dangremond said.
Alvarado echoed Dangremond’s thoughts and offered her own opinions on how to solve the problem.
“Maybe they could hire someone like a secretary or something like that just so this doesn’t happen again because the fact that this was the COP and not a senate, it’s big,” she said.
Editors Note: Ryan Boyd is a former columnist for Downtown Devil. He was not involved in the reporting of this article.
Contact the reporter at jspevace@asu.edu.
