The University of Minnesota Senate proposed revisions to its constitution to the Senate Consultative Committee, which includes rewording practices and potentially addressing academic freedom policies on campus. 

According to the SCC memo, the proposed revisions include fixing the language of the constitution and changing some of the practices. 

“The purpose of this review was to identify areas that required clarification and updating,” The SCC memo read. “While the changes we are proposing are mostly technical and grammatical, there are some sections that address outdated language, codify current practice and/or modify procedures to align with common practice.” 

Chase Krug, a student representative in the Student Senate Committee, said he hopes to see student voices being heard in the Senate. 

“I want to ensure that student voices still have a say in how this legislation is brought to the body,” Krug said.

Krug said the proposed revisions are a result of controversy regarding the true meaning of certain sections within the constitution. 

“There’s some disagreement on what the current clause indicates, so they’re going to clarify that,” Krug said. “We have some opposition to that specific clause because essentially, it would limit how many people could call a special session more than what it’s currently interpreted as.” 

In the University Senate’s constitution, current revisions being made include modification of wording and providing clarity.

Student Senate Consultative Chair Dominic Scavullo said the proposed revisions will clarify the unclear sections of the constitution. 

“The rest mostly center around codifying existing practices or clarifying points that need to make a little more sense,” Scavullo said. 

Scavullo added that the changes currently being made will give the committee more structure. 

“It will codify a docket deadline for us, which will make operation of the student senate more efficient and a little bit easier for senators to introduce things to be brought up at meetings,” Scavullo said. “It basically just takes the process of the University Senate and applies that to the Student Senate as well, which I think will be a good thing for us.” 

As for most of the changes to the constitution, Faculty Senate Vice Chair Jerry Cohen said he wants the Senate to address the concerns revolving around academic freedom. 

“There are a lot of things nationally that concern universities and academic freedom, and if I can help the Senate have robust, quality discussions of some of those issues,” Cohen said. 

Cohen said that some members of the Faculty Consultative Committee are part of the committee to potentially become vice provost. 

Most of the committee are fairly democratic and represent the people who elected them, Cohen said. But he added that some members are trying to become vice provost. 

“They lack some decorum and relative to respecting their constituency to put them there because they’re there for their own future purposes,” Cohen said. 

The proposed revisions have not been finalized yet, as senate members are addressing and discussing the revisions, according to Scavullo.