Students’ Association President Pete Nabozny vetoed a poorly constructed senate measure to provide supplemental funding for Greek organizations. He rightly used his veto power, maintaining a sense of checks and balances in the SA government.
The circumstances of the proposal demonstrate the type of situation in which the presidential veto should be used. Senators rushed the measure to vote the same day it was first presented to the senate. Therefore, the only senators well-versed with the proposal were those who had drafted and pushed it to a vote.
Clearly, it is a problem when SA senators are not fully informed about the legislation on which they are voting.
Mindful of this, the lack of structure and research in the proposal was a factor in the dissenting senators’ votes.
Also, it was rushed onto the agenda and rushed to vote, suggesting that insufficient research was done. There was a clear divide among senators, with no Greek-affiliated senators voting against the proposal.
The money that would have been appropriated to the Greeks would have come from the transportation budget, which remains largely unused. If the transportation money is to be reapportioned, the SA Senate should have further investigated different redistribution plans – there are plenty of ways by which the student body could benefit from a new budget.
For example, the money could be appropriated to a supplemental fund from which SA funded groups could propose ways of using money.
The rash vote was remedied by President Nabozny’s veto, who recognized the need to look beyond a senate decision to the student body as a whole.
Hopefully, the use of the veto power in this way will set an example for future SA presidents.
