A parliamentary procedure violation caused the Ball State University Student Government Association to revote on who would be its president pro-tempore during its Wednesday meeting.
During the April 2 SGA meeting Jimmy Faroh was voted to take the position with 50 percent of the vote, or eight votes. Michelle Voss and David Voelker had 5 votes and 3 votes, respectively.
According to procedure, when three people run, a person must have 51 percent of the vote to win.
Because Voss and Faroh were the top two candidates, Student Senate chose between those two for who would be president pro-tempore. Faroh won the position again.
SGA President Frank Hood said the error was something he should have recognized and handled, but he did not think about it at that time.
"I knew he had 50, and I should have thought he needed 51," Hood said. "I don't run Senate, but I should have caught it. It is my fault. I take full blame for it."
He said former SGA Vice President Jamie Manuel mentioned the procedure violation after Hood told him the vote percentage.
Voss said everyone makes mistakes, so it was understandable that those things happen, but it was nobody's fault. She said it was more of a disappointment that she did not win the first time than the second time.
"The second time was the realization that I didn't win the first time so I might not win the second time," Voss said. "It was just OK, let the best person win."
Voss said even though she was not president pro-tempore she would continue to mentor other senators because she loved helping others.
"No matter what position I hold, I love SGA and I think they do a lot for campus more than students realize," Voss said. "I don't think a title will stop me from caring about this campus and contributing."
Faroh said when he learned there would be a revote he knew it was something that had to be done. He said if he did not win the second time he was ready to help Voss transition into the position.
He said he was excited to win again the same way he was last week.
"I'm glad it's official now, and I'm ready to get started," he said.
Hood said although his slate had SGA experience and should know the rules, the parliamentary rules and procedures was a long list. To memorize every aspect of it was like expecting a college student to remember every word in a textbook, he said.
The procedure violation was something that hardly occurs because having three people run for president pro-tempore is rare, he said.
"It's an art form and to master it and know every rule takes a lot of training," Hood said. "Members on the [Campus Alliance] slate have experience, but there are rules that come up that slip the cracks once in awhile, and this was one of those. We have extensive experience in parliamentary procedure, but that doesn't mean we're masters of it. Us not being a master of it caused an issue."
It was a simple mistake that no one caught and no one was thinking about it, he said.
"It's not going to happen again," Hood said. "You learn from that, and I don't think it'll cause an issue."
In other SGA business, Cabinet members were introduced to Student Senate. These members include Chief of Staff Shawn Meier, Press Secretary Jennifer Regnier, Secretary of Justice Samantha Adamczewski and Community Relations Jacinta Yanders. Secretary of Governance Ashley Ford, Secretary of Information Technology Craig Jackson and Secretary of Diversity Jessica Tindal also were named Cabinet members.
According to the SGA bylaws, Cabinet members serve at the discretion of the current SGA president and any hiring or firing is done at the president's prerogative.
Hood said the members were chosen based on their diversity and how it mirrored Campus Alliance's diversity. The Cabinet has members with SGA experience and those without experience including a former past cabinet member and a former slate member, he said.
The diversity also entails members who are not greeks and those who are, he said. There are people from University Communications, mock trial, multicultural associations and Student Voluntary Services, he said.
"We looked at the success that worked for us as a slate with diversity, experience and fresh experience, and we decided to apply that to Cabinet," Hood said. "They have experience in their positions, experience for SGA and involvement in other areas of campus."
SGA senators also chose caucus and committee chairpersons as well as approved three people to Student Senate, which increases the total number of members to 31 with 30 seats remaining to fill Senate. Senators approved Devin Hillsdon-Smith and Aly Tennant to the Off-campus Caucus. Senators approved Michael Konopasek to the At-Large Caucus.
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