Student government continues work on student bill of rights

Student government officials hope the new bill of rights will establish an understanding between the student body and the administration (photo by John Irwin).

Since the start of fall semester, Mason Student Government has been busy with numerous projects, the largest of which is the completion of a student bill of rights, pioneered by the attorney general.

“Last year there was a different attorney general under a different cabinet, so I have his old document, but it’s very formal and there wasn’t really a plan for it under the old executive group,” said Rachel Grimesey, current attorney general. “We have a broader plan for it and what we want to do but it hasn’t been written yet.”

The new bill of rights aims to establish clarity with policies and address concerns many students have had. The goal for the document is accessibility to students and establishing a set of rights and policies agreed upon by both students and administration.

“We want it to be kind of an agreement of procedural and expected rights that students have in the judicial systems on campus,” Grimesey said.

The bill of rights, however, will not be a legal document. It will serve more as an understanding between the student body and the administration.

“A lot of it will be taking Virginia and federal laws and making it into a condensed, understandable version that is relevant to what students deal with on a day to day basis,” Grimesey said.

The document is still in its research stage but Grimesey plans to have the bill of rights finished or close to being finished by the end of the fall semester before being presented to students and administration. It should be finalized by the end of May 2014.

“We have to hold a town hall before we present to the [student] senate to vote. So students are going to have to be notified. Whether people show up is up to them, but we will have to advertise two weeks in advance,” said Matthew Short, secretary of university services.

Until then, Grimesey is taking suggestions and concerns through email and during office hours.

“It’s work in progress. We’re all really excited about it. We just keep building and building on top of it so that’s why it hasn’t be written yet,” Grimesey said. “It’s going to be a long process I think, but that’s a good thing.”