Leading With Light?: SGA Senate Votes to Ban Recording, Quoting in Meetings in Blow to Transparency
Image Courtesy of Patrick D. Lewis
By Patrick D. Lewis
On Monday, the Student Government Association (SGA) Senate voted to approve a resolution and a bill to ban audio and video recording of meetings and the quoting of anyone in the chamber. This move is a blow to transparency and to the freedom of speech.
Class of 2027 Senator Jack Hermes introduced both pieces of legislation. School of Architecture and Allied Arts Senator Luc Vanraes cosponsored both, and Class of 2026 Senator Bennett Bert cosponsored the resolution.
In Resolution 12, Hermes claimed that SGA meetings are university organizational events and that the University Recording Policy requires that participants consent to being recorded beforehand. However, the policy refers to university officers and does not include SGA, according to university officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The resolution goes on to say, “recordings of Senate meetings discourage candid debate, reduce participation from newer Senators, politicize internal deliberations, and expose student representatives to unnecessary risk of harassment or misrepresentation… The ability of student legislators to debate freely, without fear of unauthorized recording, is essential to fulfilling the Senate’s mandate to represent the undergraduate student body faithfully and effectively.”
It also says that SGA officials have the power to ban recordings — even if it contradicts the University Recording Policy — and that “official minutes serve as the permanent and authoritative account of the actions, motions, and remarks made in Senate proceedings, and thus continue to provide clear and attributable documentation of what was said and done during meetings.” However, minutes have not yet been released for any meetings this semester, and historically have been undetailed.
The resolution requests that the organization “affirms its authority to prohibit the recording of Senate meetings without the unanimous advance consent of all participants, in accordance with the University Recording Policy and the Student Code of Conduct; requests that the University Administration formally recognize and support the Senate’s right to conduct unrecorded deliberative meetings, consistent with University policy and the protection of healthy democratic governance within the student body;” and asks that “the Office of General Counsel meet with senate leadership to ensure this right of the Senate is not infringed.”
Bill 5, which accompanies the resolution, amends Senate policy to say, “All Senate Meetings shall remain open to members of the University community in the interest of transparency and public engagement, and shall be closed to individuals who are not affiliated with The Catholic University of America. No Senate Meeting may be audio-recorded or video-recorded by any individual, unless expressly consented to by everyone in the chamber and the audience. Attendees, Senators, and all participants are free to discuss the general subject matter and information presented in Senate Meetings, but no individual may publicly publish, quote, or attribute any statement, position, or remark to a specific Senator, attendee, or member of the University community without that individual’s explicit consent.”
The Resolution passed 17-2, with Senators Bonney and Janssen opposed. The Bill passed 16-2, with the same senators opposed. Senator Bert did not vote on the bill due to leaving the meeting early.
College of Arts and Sciences Senator Emma Bonney spoke in opposition to the Resolution, saying that she would prefer to be quoted than paraphrased and that the Resolution does not make sense because the minutes are often delayed.
“I personally would rather someone have problems with exactly what I said rather than the gist of what I said,” Bonney said. She also said the Student Code of Conduct does not mention recording at all. ”That’s not a Code of Conduct thing,” she said.
In responding to Bonney’s comments, Hermes said that the “university administration has absolutely no business telling this body how we govern ourselves.” He said university administration intervening in the Senate would be “executive overreach.” Hermes also accused The Tower of being biased and defamatory.
Conway School of Nursing Senator Felipe Avila said that the school shouldn’t have a recording policy, but said that, as it exists, it should be applied equitably. He also said that university administration is “weaponizing” policies against the Senate. Class of 2027 Senator Austin Janssen said he had concerns surrounding the First Amendment and the Resolution. School of Theology, and Religious Studies Senator Joshua Ortiz said he supported the resolution because he believes the policy would “protect” senators from “unjust harassment.”
Bonney replied by reiterating that she would rather be quoted directly than paraphrased. Hermes then accused The Tower of blackmailing him. “It’s a political tool. It’s not real journalism,” he said. Avila agreed, saying he believed The Tower is “abhorrent” and has a political agenda.
College of Engineering, Physics, and Computing Senator Richard Harrington asked Hermes how he planned to enforce the policies in the Bill. Hermes said the Bill was meant to amend the Senate Bylaws, and that it was more of a technicality to pass it in both bill and resolution form.
Bonney said that senators sacrifice their time and efforts to put together resolutions and that it does not make sense to hide their positions. Hermes said the only record of meetings should be the official minutes.
It should be noted that although the Senate passed this Bill and Resolution tonight, many university officials have stated that SGA cannot change university policy or infringe upon The Tower’s right to record or quote Senators.
