The University Senate will vote Wednesday on two motions inspired by THE General Body during its final meeting of the semester.

The vote comes 13 days after THE General Body, a coalition of student organizations, left Crouse-Hinds Hall, ending its 18-day sit-in. The first motion affirms the Centennial Declaration of the American Association of University Professors, while the second relates to faculty responses to issues raised during the sit-in.

Throughout the 18 days of THE General Body’s sit-in, the group demanded that students have more of a say in university decisions.

The motion about the AAUP states, “that the Syracuse University Senate affirms and adopts the Centennial Declaration of the American Association of University Professors as part of Syracuse University’s guiding principles.” The AAUP Centennial Declaration is a list of 10 points about shared governance, research, engaging communities and other university topics.

“We urge all faculty, students, administrators, staff and the Board of Trustees to recognize in their actions that the University is a ‘public good’ and that meaningful ‘shared governance is a cornerstone’ of ensuring that we live up to that high and demanding charge,” the motion reads. Twelve members of the University Senate have signed the motion.

The second motion, “affirms and applauds” actions by THE General Body. The motion says the SU community must be involved in the decision-making process and says the administration “avoided any mention of administrative concern” about the “erosion of shared governance and academic freedom.”

“We hope that the administration might learn from the students about how to engage in intellectually serious, rigorous and respectful debate toward participatory decision-making,” the motion reads. “Above all, we urge the administration to work with students, faculty and staff in implementing genuine shared governance at this university, based on transparent and timely circulation of all relevant information.”

The second motion is signed by the same 12 members of the Senate.

The University Senate will hold its final meeting of the semester Wednesday at 4 p.m. in the Maxwell Auditorium. The vote on the motions is scheduled to be the sixth item on the agenda.

Published on December 3, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Justin: jmatting@syr.edu | @jmattingly306