The Student Government Senate spent its Wednesday meeting trying new ways to fight budget cuts by creating a SG budget crisis taskforce and passing a resolution to invite multiple University leaders to a “joint convocation” to discuss budget cuts.
SG President Cody Wells said he was concerned that LSU System President John Lombardi has ordered no LSU employee to speak badly of Governor Bobby Jindal’s budget or the budget cuts to the University.
The executive order states that “LSU System President John Lombardi has issued a gag order to all LSU System executives, including those at Louisiana’s flagship institution, in exchange for supposed good treatment in Governor Bobby Jindal’s 2012-2013 executive budget.”
In response to the “gag order,” Wells ordered the establishment of the “LSU SG Budget Crisis Taskforce.”
The taskforce will be comprised of eight SG members and its mission is “to strategically and effectively protect and speak in defense of the state’s flagship institution.”
Wells said while administrators must follow the System’s orders, members of SG are protected because they aren’t LSU employees.
“Anything this institution needs to say can’t be said … because this is like Communist Russia,” Wells said.
The Senate also passed a resolution to hold a convocation including Lombardi, Chancellor Michael Martin, LSU Faculty Senate, LSU Staff Senate and SG to solve budget cut problems.
“We want this to be used as solution time, not just [information] time to make us feel more involved,” said co-author of the resolution and E.J. Ourso College of Business Senator Emily Landry.
Senator of the Graduate School Rachel O’Pry said no matter how the heads of the University respond, the convocation will be good publicity against the budget cuts.
“If they reject [the invitation], that will be further publicity for the issue,” she said. “If they stall it, that would be publicity. Why would they stall it? …If they engage it, that would be further publicity.”
 
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Contact Danielle Kelley at [email protected]