By Lauren Quinn, Assistant Editor of News
“Just allowing the club to exist has already created such a festering ground on this campus […] you can feel it in the air,” expressed a Susquehanna student.
Conflicting opinions have risen following the approval of a new club on Susquehanna’s campus, a decision that followed after the club’s initial denial.
On Tuesday, Jan.27 at 7 p.m. in Isaac’s auditorium, Susquehanna University’s Student Government Association (SGA) held an event called, “A Conversation with SGA: The Appeal Process.”
The event allowed the student body to express concerns, ask questions and gain knowledge about the appeal process and what the future may hold concerning this specific club, and any others.
SGA President, Kyra Keenan, answered every to the best of her ability.
A repeated concern voiced in the auditorium was how the new club’s rooted values and beliefs may affect the Susquehanna community, and if there are any restrictions or rules that the club must follow to stay active.
“All clubs, organizations and students are required to follow […] the statement of ethical and inclusive living. This statement emphasizes ‘freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and freedom of speech,’” stated Keenan.
She suggested that students attempt to separate Susquehanna’s chapter of the club from the national chapter in order to prevent pre-determined opinions or concerns from spreading without valid evidence.
“We are focusing on Susquehanna students here who might not do everything that the greater organization does […] we can’t really base our decisions on hypotheticals,” stated Keenan.
At Susquehanna, clubs cannot discriminate or be discriminated against based on ideological beliefs.
After the club was initially denied during Susquehanna’s Organizational Summit last October, they submitted an appeal letter and “check[ed] all the boxes, including the ethical and inclusive living statement” in order to gain approval, elaborated Keenan.
It was stated that no outside influences, including financial and legal ones, were taken into consideration when SGA decided to approve the club during their three-hour long discussion.
Currently, Susquehanna does not have a formal appeal process put in place to aid situations such as this.
“Moving forward this semester, SGA is forming a ‘constitutional committee’ to review the SGA constitution and recommend constitutional revisions. There is also potential to review […] Organizational Summit, and the club approval process all together, from initial steps through appeal. This may include adding more structure to the club-approval process, and/or voting parameters,” explained Keenan.
The hope is that a more formal and structured process will prevent controversial situations from happening in the future. Also, it seeks to provide students who are looking to start new clubs with improved guidelines.
Kennan urged that if any student feels threatened or unsafe on campus, that they should report it to Campus Safety immediately, and that reports will not be taken lightly under any circumstance.
If one is interested in viewing a Susquehanna club’s constitution, they are all available for public viewing on Campus Groups.