The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Monday, November 30, 2009 - 9A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, November 30, 2009 - 9A Years ago, MSA held student body- wide elections to pick oversight reps. From Page 1A The main concerns about the DPS Oversight Committee involve the election processes used to select representatives to serve on the body, which is comprised of two faculty, two staff and two student represen- tatives. Those representatives then make recommendations regarding grievances filed against the campus police. But widespread negligence - of internal bylaws and state laws has recently raised concerns over how effectively the body can handle that responsibility. Though a Michigan statute states that student representatives to the DPS Oversight Committee must be "nominated and elected" by the stu- dent body, MSA has, in recent years, appointed student representatives to fill the positions without a stu- dent-wide election. In an MSA meeting Nov. 3, the assembly voted to approve two new student representatives to the com- mittee: LSA junior Hemant Chapar- ala and Engineering sophomore Prithvi Murthy. In a special report earlier this month, the Daily quoted several lawyers who said that that nomi- nation process appears to violate Michigan's Public Act 120 of 1990, which states, "The committee shall be comprised of individuals nomi- nated and elected by the faculty, stu- dents, and staff of the institution." While a nomination process is used today, interviews with former MSA officials from the last two decades reveal that MSA used to put DPS Oversight Committee can- didates on ballots in student body- wide MSA elections. According to the DPS Oversight Committee's bylaws, students, fac- ulty and staff members all have the right to vote for their own represen- tative. But sometime in 2000, that right was waived for students when MSA began appointing representa- tives to the committee - dropping the student-wide election process. University alum Brian Kight served as an MSA representative from 1990 to 1994. When the DPS Oversight Committee was formed in 1992, Kight wrote a supplemental document to the MSA election code that explained the procedures for electing students to the committee. The document stated that two student representatives and one alternative would be electetq to the committee in a student body-wide election. The alternate was to fill any vacancies that might occur throughout the year, and the candi- dates would be placed on the MSA winter election ballot. Kight - who was chair of the MSA Rules and Elections Commit- tee at the time - said MSA created the supplement to make sure stu- dent representatives on the com- mittee would in fact be elected by the students, and not appointed by the administration. "We were worried that the Uni- versity administration would hold its own elections independent of MSA, and we were worried that that would set a bad precedent that student gov- ernment would lose its autonomy if thathappened," Kight said. Kight also explained that MSA and student groups protested against the deputization of campus police officers because they were concerned officers carrying guns could potentially shoot students. Despite the controversy, the Uni- versity Board of Regents voted to approve the formation of DPS in a restricted Access meeting where protesters could not disrupt pro- ceedings. Kight said MSA was torn on how to handle the situation - with one party wanting to oppose the police and the majority of assembly mem- bers desiring to support them as long as they listened to students' concerns. That's when Kight drafted the Supplemental Election Code that was an additional chapter of the MSA Compiled Code - the consti- tution that outlines MSA rules and procedures. Kight said he wrote the new provisions because there was some concern on how MSA would legally appoint the representatives. For other University commit- tees with student representation, MSA's Campus Governance Com- mittee nominated candidates, and the assembly voted to approve them - a process similar to the one used today to put representatives on the oversight committee. But because of the state law, MSA officials believed this process wouldn't suffice. "Looking at Public Act 120, it said 'nominated andelected'sowe deter- mined that these positions had to be elected - not appointed through the normal Campus Governance Com- mittee appointment process," Kight said. Because the law does not state how vacancies are to be filled, Kight inserted a provision that called for an alternate to also be elected. The alternate would serve a one-year term and fill any vacancies that arose during the year. Today, MSA does not appoint alternates. As reported in the Nov. 16 Daily report, the lack of alter- nates presented a problem this year, when both student representatives had graduated by May, and the com- mittee had no student representa- tion for six months. According to Kight, the first MSA elections following the provisions in 1992 were successful. Candidates were placed on MSA's paper ballot, and Kight recalls about six students running for the position. "It was definitely competitive," he said. Elected student representatives to the Oversight Committee could be traced back to 1999 - in a Daily article that announced the winners of the two positions. According to Matt Nolan, MSA president from 2001 to 2002, there was no student body-wide election in 2000. Nolan added that he was not aware that the representatives had been elected in prior years. University alum Hideki Tsut- sumi, who served as MSA president from 2000 to 2001, could not be reached for comment. Additionally, the Supplemental Election Code, or any similar docu- ment, is no longer part of the MSA Compiled Code. Kightsaid he thinks it disappeared at some point when MSA revised the Compiled Code. The Compiled Code is revised about once a month. Mahanti and 2008-2009 MSA President Sabrina Shingwani said they had not heard of the Supplemental Election Code. Mahantisaid election procedures for the DPS Oversight Committee are not outlined in MSA's current Election Code. Though Mahanti told the Daily this month that it would be difficult to organize a student body-wide election for the Oversight Com- mittee representatives, Kight said online voting should make it easy and cited the printing costs and logistical challenges of coordinat- ing paper ballots he dealt with as a representative nearly 20 years ago. When Public Act 120 was writ- ten, Kight said there was a general consensus that the students would nominate and elect their peers to the committee. He added the way MSA currently handles the election process by appointing representa- tives is "absolutely in violation of the state statue." "I think the statue is very clear that these individuals have to be nominated and elected by the stu- dents," he said. "When it says that, it doesn't mean the representative body of the students. It means the students." Kight said he thinks MSA didn't do a good job of promotingthe posi- tion over the years and members had a hard time finding candidates. "At some point they probably decided, 'OK we'll appoint these positions just like we appoint peo- ple to other committees,' and they weren't really paying attention to the fact that Public Act 120 of 1990 requires an election," he said. In addition to MSA's missteps regarding the DPS Oversight Com- mittee, the University's administra- tion also never acted over the last decade on the possibly illegal nomi- nation process MSA has been using. In an interview this month, Pro- vost Teresa Sullivan said she did not know much about the issue and sug- gested to talk to Mahanti. "I'mmoreofaninterestedobserv- er onthis than an active ingredient," Sullivan said. At the University Board of Regents November meeting, Uni- versity spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said the University strongly believes it is meetingthe requirements of the law both in writing and in practice. Kight said he thinks University administrators have always been "ambivalent" about the committee and that they never paid any atten- tion to the body because they felt DPS could handle grievances on its own. "I really think the University administration has never been a big fan of the Oversight Committee and has kind of downplayed it, ignored it or at least they haven't really been concerned about it," Kight said. In this Oct. 1, 2009 file photo, Elizabeth Smart smiles as she leaves federalcourt. Hearing today for abductor in case of Elizabeth Smart Court will decide whether abductor is competent enough to stand trial SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - For the third time since his arrest in 2003, a court will hold a compe- tency hearing for the man charged in the 2002 abduction of Elizabeth Smart. The 10-day hearing for Brian David Mitchell begins today in Utah's U.S. District Court. U.S. DistrictJudgeDaleKimball will ultimately decide whether the 56-year-old former street preacher is competent to stand trial. It's unclear how long Kimball will take to issue a ruling. His decision will determine how the case will proceed - toward a trial if Mitchell is competent or an effort to restore Mitchell's compe- tency if he is not. The hearing will be Mitchell's first in federal court, but it's a replay of state court proceedings where Mitchellwas twice deemed incompetent for trial. Diagnosed with a rare delusion- al disorder Mitchell - who sings hymn incessantly during court appearances and -once yelled at a judge to 'repent' - has been pri- marily held at the Utah State Hos- pital and has refused treatment. Last year, a state judge refused to order forced medication for Mitchell, saying she was not con- vinced that anti-psychotic drugs would restore his competency. Aself-described prophetofGod, Mitchell was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2008 on charges of kidnapping and unlawful trans- portation of a minor. A state case, where he is charged with multiple felonies, has been held up over the competency issue. Smart was just 14 on June 5, 2002, when she was taken from her home at knifepoint and held captive for nine months. At an October hearing, Smart said she was forced to become Mitchell's second wife in a religious ceremo- ny and then raped. 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