On December 5, 2011, Student Senate resolved and amended Article IV of the Constitution, focusing on the section dealing with discipline. In Spring 2011, a Senate member resigned and then rescinded his resignation.

“The amendment we are sending to the student body comes directly from what myself as the Ombudsperson and the Senate Ethics Committee felt were inadequacies in Senate’s ability to discipline its own members for misconduct, made apparent by the situation in spring 2011,” Clark Kampfe said.

The Ombudsperson is responsible for hearing complaints against elected officials and investigating those complaints. When such a complaint is made or when a Senate member is not performing their duties, the Ombudsperson will call a meeting of the Ethics Committee and the group will decide upon an appropriate punishment for said member.

“Previously, the Senate’s main form of disciplinary action was limited to impeachment and removal, which is excessive in most cases. We wanted the ability to have the punishment match the gravity of the offense,” Kampfe said. “We didn’t want our hands tied to have to get rid of someone who had only committed a minor transgression, and we also felt that we needed a clear, explicit set of tools to empower the Ethics Committee and full Senate to take strong action against those who would willfully violate Senate’s constitution and by-laws.”

The new amendment adds an array of disciplinary actions to Senate’s arsenal. The Ombudsperson can issue an informal warning, a formal warning signed by the disciplined person and presented to the full Senate, or a more official reprimand, a censure, which must be voted on by Senate. The more serious punishments include a period of suspended speaking privileges or impeachment and removal, which both must be approved by a two-thirds majority of Senate.