Keeping Up with the King's Council: A Motion Commotion

The meeting kicked off with a prayer from Reagan President Patrick Thomas. Everyone’s attention was then brought to Koby Jackson, Vice President of The Table, King’s newest Student Organization. He wanted to remind the Council about upcoming events, the "Starlight Art Night" on Feb. 24 and a movie night in the city room next Friday. Lastly, Jackson asked for House Presidents to spread the word to members of their House that The Table has bi-weekly meetings on Fridays and they should contact Table President Taylor Johnson if interested in joining.

Next, Student Body President Katherine Thompson gave a quick presentation about running for Student Body President. The presentation featured what the candidates will do and what they will not do (Thompson included pictures of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton yelling). Thompson wants candidates to support each other and to avoid the rhetoric that was seen on the national level. The candidates will be announced on Feb. 9, voting will commence on Feb. 21-22 at midnight (a runoff debate and election will take place if needed) and the new Student Body President will be officially announced on Feb. 27.

In Director of Communications Helen Healey’s update, she told the Council that they will be giving out a Student Service Award at graduation. The recipient will be someone whose selfless contributions often go unrecognized. This person must be a graduating senior (December graduates included) and they must have never held a position on the Council. The current Council will nominate people, the Council will discuss to whom it should be given, and then Thompson will present the award to the recipient at graduation this May. Thompson is open to suggestions for a different title of the award; however, she will not be calling it the “Jesus Christ Award.”

Director of Student Events Michelle Lindhardt then updated the Council on the planning process of Spring Formal. Lindhardt is 98% positive that Spring Formal will be on Saturday, April 22, but House Presidents should keep April 28 free as well, just in case. A firm date is expected by Feb. 15 after the Events Committee views a few more venues.

Director of Spiritual Life Michael Martinez reminded everyone of the first Difficult Discussion of the semester on Feb. 2, which will feature a panel and questions that discuss diversity at King’s.

Next on the agenda was a SWOT debrief of the King’s Day of Service. The day was very successful, with 130 students serving. The House of Truth had the highest attendance. Strengths that the Council discussed were the convenience of the signup form and the enthusiasm generated by the point people and Sadie Elliott, the Director of City Engagement. The only weakness that was brought up was the timing of the event since it landed on the same day as Statesmanship’s Spring Summit and it was so early in the semester that students may not have been “in the groove” by that time. An important opportunity for city engagement is the possibility of turning the King’s Day of Service into a full week of service.

The Council also debriefed Statesmanship Spring Summit. House Presidents were happy that they had time to speak with their teams and plan out the year, while being in the City Room where their training first began. Possible opportunities could include getting General Gibson or other inspiring speakers to give advice and have someone demonstrate the best way to put the position of Helmsman, Chamberlain, Scholar or President on a resume.

Four motions were brought to the Council’s attention. The first asked for $350 from the Student Organizations’ budget to be given to The Table. The motion was approved with a “yes” from all presidents. The next motion asked for $280 from the Director of Student Organizations’ budget to be given to the club TKC Cure. This motion was also unanimously approved. The third motion provoked a bit more thought and debate from House Presidents.

The motion, which was previously discussed in last week’s Council meeting, asks to change the constitution so that allows House Presidents to have only six proxied meetings per semester. If a president attempts to send a proxy to more than six meetings, then they will either have to show up to every remaining meeting themselves, or not have their House represented at meetings.  Thompson clarified the reasons behind this rule — to hold presidents accountable, fulfilling the president’s job description, and making sure information is communicated in the most effective way possible, rather than through a proxy. Churchill President Peter Murphy said that he thought they should vote “yes” if they thought these meetings should be a prime focus of the president, because this amendment would force it to require more focus. Reagan President Patrick Thomas was skeptical of the amendment and said, “I think it is kind of a silly motion; it could be solved with a one-on-one conversation.” Director of Communications Helen Healey reminded everyone that they have the best meetings when everyone is on the same page. Churchill President added, “We expect the president to be the best representative of the House,” and it was put to a vote. Seven out of ten House Presidents voted yes, with QE1 President Jessica Matthews, Reagan President Patrick Thomas and Bonhoeffer President Josh Hinen not in favor.

The fourth and final motion, “No virtual votes will be taken by the King’s Council if the vote in question involves allocating funds to Council, Student Organization, Events, or external entities,” will be voted on in the next meeting. If it is approved, it will be put into the rules for the current and future Councils.

To top it off, Barton President Ali Zieminski urged everyone to spread the word about the Barton Blood Drive and,  “be generous with your heart and your blood.” The blood drive is happening Feb. 9 from noon to 5pm. “Do it unless you medically can’t,” Zieminski added.

Meeting Highlights:

Student Body President Katherine Thompson

• Election timeline
• Feb. 9: Candidates announced
• Feb. 16: Town Hall Debate
• Feb.  17: Bananza Debate
• Feb.  21: Final Speeches from Candidates
• Feb.  21-22 at midnight: Voting Open
• Feb. 23: (if needed) Announcement of Runoff Debate
• Feb. 23-24 at midnight: Run-off Voting
• Feb. 27: New Student Body President Announced

Director of Communications Helen Healey

• Student Service Award will be given at the May 2017 graduation, the recipient will be someone whose selfless contributions often go unrecognized. The award will be present by Thompson.

Director of Student Events Michelle Lindhardt

• Potential Spring Formal date: Saturday, April 22
• Only a few more venues for the committee to view before making a decision.

Director of Spiritual Life Michael Martinez

• First "Difficult Discussions" on February 2 concerning race and diversity at King’s.

Motions

• The Table received $350 from the Director of Student Organizations’ budget.
• TKC Cure received $280 from the Director of Student Organizations’ budget.
• No change in Constitution to allow House Presidents only six proxied Council Meetings was approved by eight presidents.
• Motion about voting via e-mail for things that concern allocating funds to Council, Student Organizations, Events, or external entities will be voted on in the meeting next week.

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that the motion to limit proxied meetings for each House President to 6 was approved. The vote was not approved, in a 7 (yes) - 3 (no) decision.