Lone law rep to miss SLC for rest of the semester

By Riley Hill, January 22 2015 —

Despite moving to Toronto, George Huang plans to remain the lone Students’ Union law representative, a job which requires him to attend Students’ Legislative Council (SLC) on Tuesdays and pays a $350 honorarium every month.

Huang told SLC on Jan. 13 that he would “still be able to do 75 per cent” of his job while away. SLC then voted in a secret ballot to excuse Huang from council meetings for the rest of the semester so he can keep his position.

Huang told two SU executives — president Jarett Henry and vice-president operations and finance Adam Swertz — in December he planned to move. Huang then searched for a replacement, but no one took the offer.

“Not many law students are really engaged in the SU,” Huang said.

Huang argued before council that keeping the position in a limited capacity is better than no one doing the job at all.

“We thought that it was better that I do 75 per cent of it than no one does it,” Huang said.

Along with attending SLC every week, Huang is responsible for attending General Faculties Council and Law Faculties Council once a month and bi-weekly Society of Law Students meetings. He sat on the Student Legal Assistance executive team before January. He also helped organize events for law students, helped Student Legal Assistance get re-sanctioned as a club and worked with U of C law dean Ian Holloway on the faculty’s new $300 per-course market modifier.

Law students won’t have a representative to vote at SLC for the rest of the semester.

Huang said Society of Law Students president Daphne Rodzinyak will inform him about the faculty of law’s first budget since the market modifier was approved in December. He said he can keep in contact with students who have questions through Facebook.

SU vice-president external Levi Nilson said he had some concerns about how the faculty will budget the market modifier with Huang gone.

“My concerns were mostly around making sure the market modifier is done the way it’s supposed to be done. I think that requires a personal presence,” Nilson said.

SU science representative Keean Bexte motioned to vote on Huang’s excusal from SLC in an open ballot, though he didn’t receive the necessary seconder.

“I voted to have a recorded vote because I thought that it was important for our constituents to know how we voted,” Bexte said. “I thought it would also help with the herd mentality that SLC sometimes observes when we’re all voting at the same time.”

Huang will still receive his $350 honorarium for January. He said he will talk with Swertz about whether he’ll receive honorariums for the rest of the semester.

Huang is moving to attend school with his fiancée.

“My fiancée is a Toronto law student in her first year. Since this is my last year as a student, I figured I only have this one opportunity in my lifetime to be a student with my fiancée,” he said.