The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Issue date: 2/10/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Shelley Woll Associated Students of CSU President, Taylor Smoot, left, and Randy Fisher discuss the Board of Governers Bill with the House Education Committee at the State Capital Building on Monday.

Editor's note: This article previously referred to Randy Fischer as the Republican sponsor of the Board of Governors bill. Fischer is a Democrat.

Support from student government leaders at the state's capitol wasn't enough to gain legislative support for the Board of Governors bill Monday as it failed in front of the House Education Committee, even after it garnered backing from hundreds of CSU stakeholders.

Fifteen members of the Associated Students of CSU gathered in Denver Monday, encouraging legislators to sponsor the bill, which would have allowed CSU-Fort Collins and CSU-Pueblo student body presidents a voting seat on the board.

Taylor Smoot, president of ASCSU, sits on the BOG currently but acts as an ex-officio member.

While ASCSU secured six of seven Democratic votes prior to the hearing -- one less than needed for the bill to pass -- the bill failed seven to six Monday afternoon.

Seth Walter, ASCSU director of Legislative Affairs, drafted the bill in December, and student government has lobbied for its passage since, writing hundreds of letters and e-mails to state legislators.

First to speak at the bill's hearing, David Skaggs, executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education, testified against the bill on behalf of Gov. Bill Ritter and, he said, Colorado's higher education leaders that he is charged with representing.

Skaggs said the bill was unfavorable because thesame committee hearing the BOG bill Monday refused to pass the Higher Education Faculty Voting bill last month, which would have put faculty members on the BOG.

Skaggs said he believes university boards are charged with overseeing the broad interests of the public and its institutions and that, should boards begin to hear only certain constituents, they would be sacrificing their presiding responsibilities.

"If we (give students voting rights), what about faculty?" he asked.

Following Skaggs' testimony, Randy Fischer, the Democrat sponsor of the bill, introduced the draft to the committee and urged them to "show the students of CSU that you care."

Continued...

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