Inclusivity in ASUI has been a recent hot-button issue for the senate, and ASUI Director of Diversity Samantha Hansen’s bill to eliminate the GPA requirement for ASUI leadership positions has been the center of the debate.The bill aimed to replace the GPA requirement for individuals seeking an ASUI position with an evaluation based on academic standing within their respective department.
At last Wednesday’s senate meeting, the bill was unanimously voted down by the senate. Both senators who sponsored the bill abstained from the vote.
Sen. Andrew Baldridge said the primary reason for not passing the bill was because the current GPA requirement was inclusive enough.
“We felt as though what’s in place already — the 2.75 or a previous semester of 3.0 — was enough to show one’s willingness to put some work into ASUI,” Baldridge said. “Obviously the first thing you’re here for is education and if you can’t pull above a 2.75, you’re probably going to have trouble balancing ASUI with academics.”
Sen. Nathan Fisher said his vote was based on data regarding the average GPA of University of Idaho students.
“We did pull up the grade report that the Greek life office puts out,” Fisher said. “The most recent one we saw was for the spring 2012 semester and the all-campus GPA was somewhere from a 2.91 to 2.98, and we thought that was a good example that the 2.75 GPA requirement still incorporates more than half of the student body.”
Hansen said she wasn’t necessarily disappointed about the bill not passing, but about a population of students under the current GPA standard that still do not have a chance at capturing a leadership position with ASUI.
“I hope that we can find some other way of challenging the notion that arbitrary levels help people, and that creating barriers is the only way to encourage success,” Hansen said. “Of course it is difficult for those within the system to see its flaws, in that it worked out well for them and therefore, on average, many haven’t seen the other side of the issue. My coworkers are all very hardworking and driven people and their successes academically are reflective of that. However, I still do not believe that academic success is the only marker of a person’s value as a leader. I’d still like to look for a way to express that belief in our policy, and continue to be mindful of taking a holistic view on things.”
Baldridge said while he understood the arguments set forth by Hansen and the senate sponsors of the bill, the alternative way of evaluating a person’s academic success identified in the bill was inequitable in itself.
“For a political science major like myself, the GPA needed in order to graduate is a 2.0 and I know for engineering students it’s almost a 3.0, and it’s the same thing for architecture students,” Baldridge said. “So we felt that it was in some ways less fair than the current uniform policy, where everyone is held to the same standards.”
Sponsor of the bill, Sen. Vivian Gonzalez, said she decided to abstain from the vote because she could not overlook the fact that more than half of the student body could apply for ASUI senate or executive positions under the current policy.
“I decided to abstain, after conversing with the other senators about the bill and learning that the average GPA for a UI student is about a 2.9,” Gonzalez said. “It was clear to me that this was an important issue that had to be addressed, but a change in the GPA requirement seemed very complicated since every college is different in the minimum GPA required to graduate. We all concluded that a 2.75 or a 3.0 GPA was a good indicator of someone who could balance classes and senate or ASUI responsibilities.”
Gonzalez said she still thinks Hansen’s bill shined light on the inclusivity of ASUI and hopes a change in policy will be a viable option after the senators receive more feedback from students.
“I still appreciate (Hansen) for bringing this issue onto the floor because it is important to discuss how inclusive ASUI should be. But I think this bill — to pass — will need more work and more people to speak on the behalf of it,” Gonzalez said. “I would greatly appreciate student input on the issue to bring it back to the floor — possibly.”
Amber Emery can be reached at [email protected]