MHCC student senator terminated

The Senator Pro Tempore seat in the Student Senate is vacant after the incumbent was terminated May 23 by the group’s Disciplinary Committee.

A vote on the motion to uphold the Disciplinary Committee’s decision was unanimous, and Kathryn “Kate” Baker was terminated.

This position is the chair of the legislative committee and was equivalent to the lead senator and “go-to” person for the Associated Student Government (ASG) vice president. These two typically work closely to coordinate the senate functions.

David Sussman, the manager of Student Union student services, said Baker was terminated because “it was determined by her peers that she was not meeting all of her responsibilities.”

Sussman said Baker didn’t follow the stipulations provided in a performance contract. The infractions were mostly related to not fulfilling office hours and “not meeting her needs as the chair of the legislative committee,” he said.

Reached by phone, Baker said she didn’t believe the decision was justified, and that nobody had communicated significant problems to her.

“I think I was terminated because I tend to go my own way and do my own thing,” she said. “I don’t feel like I did anything wrong enough to ask me to leave my position.” She said she fulfilled her office hours by volunteering at events.

“We were told office hours could be fulfilled in the office or when doing (the) job,” Baker said. She said she felt she was doing her job and believes she “was made an example of.”

She has no plans to reapply for ASG but is currently applying for Student Outreach and Recruitment (SOAR) team, she said.

As the Senator Pro Tempore, Baker was required to hold legislative committee meetings every week. But she didn’t feel it was necessary to convene each week because “it wasn’t very productive,” she said.

Sussman said Baker’s position will not be filled since it is so close to the end of the term. Instead, current ASG members will absorb her workload.

Asked about her termination so late in the term, Sussman said it was a very tough decision.

“Kate has a lot of strengths and provided a lot of wonderful contributions to ASG,” Sussman said. “She provided a unique perspective and displayed fantastic leadership skills. It’s not like she was blowing off all of her responsibilities and didn’t contribute.”

He singled out Baker’s involvement in the Day of Silence and the Night of Noise event earlier this term. This event educated students about bullying and social stigmas gays may face in the community.

Sussman said Baker took on a leadership role and used her personal relationships to find donated entertainment for the party and was involved and enthusiastic.

Sussman explained that the ASG bylaw process was followed and this issue went through a disciplinary committee. The committee is a mix of students who represent the three different bodies of student government (ASG, Student Senate and Student Activities Board) and its job is to evaluate any complaints filed by other members of student government. They then investigate those complaints by interviewing people and come up with a recommendation.

In this case, the recommendation was that Baker be terminated. The recommendation was then voted on by the Student Senate. “We have a very formal and very fair system to evaluate and help inform their (the Senate) difficult decisions,” Sussman said.

Despite her good works, Baker did not not perform at that high level in every aspect of her job, Sussman noted.

He said her termination is “definitely a loss for ASG.”