Student Union president Ethan Clay is confident he will be able to build a coalition of college governments to ratify his ‘Hope Amendment,’ an attempt to change the Union constitution’s amendment procedure, within the next two weeks, he said yesterday.

But Clay’s efforts may be delayed by questions about the validity of the Union Senate’s approval of the amendment after members of the Tribunal, the Union’s judicial body, walked out of Monday night’s Senate meeting before senators could consider the measure. Senate chairman Joel Fajardo said yesterday several senators may form a committee to explore impeaching all three Tribunal members.

After meeting with all college government presidents Tuesday, Clay said he feels certain the ‘Hope Amendment’ will pass in ‘a timely fashion.’

‘Every president seemed to endorse the ‘Hope Amendment,” he said. ‘They are taking the ‘Hope Amendment’ back to their constituents within the next week.’

The amendment would allow any BU student to propose amendments to the Student Union constitution with 1,000 signatures or by a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate. College governments would then be given three weeks to approve or veto any proposed changes, while four college governments would be required to issue a veto to kill any amendment efforts.

The proposed amendment would also give the Union president power to veto any proposed changes to the constitution, but that veto could be overridden by a three-fourths majority of the Senate.

Last month, Tribunal members nullified all actions taken by an unofficial committee Clay formed to review, and eventually propose changes to, the Union’s current constitution. The body said any committee must be comprised of representatives from several Union bodies, rather than just executive board members.

Clay appealed the Tribunal’s decision to Student Activities director Carolyn Norris, but was turned down, sparking his effort to reform the Union constitution’s entire amendment procedure.

Clay called the ‘Hope Amendment’ a last-ditch effort to restore legislative power to the Senate, which he claimed Tribunal members had taken away with their clarification.

‘Tribunal legislated a clarification and if that legislation cannot be overruled by another portion of the Student Union then we have some major problems,’ he said. ‘That’s the same as dictatorship or a monarchy or a triumvirate.’

Clay stressed the importance of the amendment’s ratification and said it would restore to senators their rightful power.

‘Nowhere does it say that [the Tribunal is] able to legislate,’ he said. ‘There are no other bodies of the Student Union that can enact legislation because the Senate is the only one, and right now they are trying to do that.’

QUESTIONS ABOUT MEETING VALIDITY Still, other Union officials continued to pursue clarification of whether Monday night’s Senate meeting, during which senators approved Clay’s amendment, was even valid after Tribunal members walked out before discussion of the measure could begin.

Senators unanimously passed a statement Clay composed declaring the meeting official late Monday night, despite provisions in the constitution mandating Tribunal presence at all Union meetings.

Senate chairman Joel Fajardo attempted to meet with Norris to answer the question yesterday, but was unable to see her because ‘she had left by 3:45 [p.m.].’

Norris has been unwilling to comment all week, despite repeated attempts to contact her.

But Clay said he did not want to turn to Norris for approval of the meeting at all.

‘I didn’t ask her to respond because that decision will be made by the Tribunal,’ he said. ‘I want this to remain within the Union.’

Senior Tribune member John Underwood said last night the body had yet to rule on the meeting.

‘The Tribunal is still discussing other things and we are also waiting on a copy of the minutes to be reviewed at this time,’ Underwood said.

IMPEACHMENT POSSIBILITIES Fajardo also said last night ‘several different senators’ had approached him after Monday night’s meeting and the Tribunal’s walk-out about forming a committee to impeach all three Tribunal members, though he said later he was referring to Senate vice chair Mike McLaughlin.

‘There is very strong indication to believe that Senate may create a committee to investigate all three tribunal members,’ Fajardo said.

While Tribunal officers Nayan Ranchhod and Underwood would not comment on the possibility of an impeachment committee, Tribunal officer James Hoogenhous said he welcomed the committee and would not let the possibility affect his judgment.

‘I don’t make my decisions based on whether or not I will be impeached for it,’ he said. ‘If they decide to form an impeachment committee, I would be more than happy to help them with the process.’

Meanwhile, Clay tried to patch up strained relations with Tribunal members yesterday in a meeting with the body. He said the meeting was an effort to avoid another confrontation with the group like those at several recent Senate meetings.

‘I’m trying to increase communication between the Tribunal and myself so that we don’t have a walk-out at the next meeting,’ he said. ‘The Senate must be able to function.’

Still, Clay said he is not worried about the ‘Hope Amendment’ passing, even with the need for a Tribunal ruling on Monday night’s meeting and time constraints.

‘I am confident the ‘Hope Amendment’ will pass regardless of the Tribunal’s ruling regarding the legitimacy of this Monday’s Senate meeting,’ he said. ‘This is not just about a constitutional reform committee it’s about setting a precedent.’