Last night at 7 p.m. in Stallings Ballroom B, the SGA Senate held a Special Session to investigate the actions that led to SGA President Syene Jasmin going on WXII and speaking out regarding the character of the artists invited to the homecoming concert.

Senator Maurice Scott started off the proceedings.

“Tonight is not a hearing for impeachment,” Scott said. “The purpose of this meeting is so that the Senate can gain more insight as to why the decision was made to go to the media regarding this homecoming issue.”

Music artists Gucci Mane and OJ the Juiceman are two of the headliners of this year’s homecoming concert. The two performers were called into question when Jasmin stated that he was informed that the News & Record would be publishing an article about the two performers being gang related.

Upon further investigation, there was never an article to be written. Joe Killian, Staff Reporter of the News & Record, who is assigned to cover North Carolina A&T for the paper, is the only person who would write such an article for the News & Record. 

“I was not going to write an article,” Killian said. “I was contacted by University Relations so that I could be updated on the happenings of the University. After this, I told Mable Scott that some students I was unfamiliar with stopped by my office and made mention of this (the homecoming situation,) but I was going on my honeymoon.”

According to University Relations, they were notified by WXII and the News & Record that some students had come to them and notified those media outlets that students were concerned about the content of the selected performers. It was following all of these things that Jasmin stated he decided to go to WXII.

“We were in a meeting with our Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, and after speculation regarding a major media outlet that an article was going to be created addressing the concerns, we tried to tell what we thought was the most honest and subjective view of the story from the Universities side,” Jasmin said. “I take full responsibility.”

The Executive Board (E-Board) was given a chance to address the Senate, but declined to do so in favor of the program proceeding.

“On behalf of the E-board, we really don’t have anything to say, lets just get to the question and answer portion,” Dudley said.  Senator after senator came up to the microphone to ask questions as to why Jasmin spoke on the news in reference to the homecoming lineup.

At a point in the meeting, Jasmin made a statement in response to a question from a member of the senate as to whether the advisors of SGA were notified of the actions they were prepared to take.

Dr. Judy Rashid, Dean of Students, requested the floor be yielded to her after the comment was made, to clarify what happened by her account.

“It was stated by the President that I and Dr. Welborne knew about the press conference…actually we got information at about 11:45 a.m. the day of the interview,” she said.

“At 12p.m. I contacted the president, and he directed me to Gary Brown. I asked him to come to my office immediately. Gary came to my office at 12:30 and I told him to go to University Relations so that he could be best guided. The interview then took place at 2 p.m.,” Rashid said.

After numerous other questions regarding why Brown spoke on WXII before his confirmation, and other questions as to why Brown and Jasmin spoke without prior approval, the floor was yielded to students.

A 30-minute session was allotted for students to speak and ask questions. Some spoke in favor of the actions taken, and some spoke against them. However the majority of the questions that were asked were strictly in regards to the decision making that transpired.

At the end of the meeting, the senators made a motion to go into closed session. Members of the audience and media quickly stopped this motion. Per the North Carolina Open Meetings Law, unless a public body is discussing personnel matters (hiring or firing) or financial matters, the body has no grounds for closed session. After this correction was made, the meeting was adjourned.

While the session may be over, it has yet to be determined as to what will happen to Jasmin, or if the Senate will take any further action.

• LaPorsha Lowry, Dexter R. Mullins & Noma vilan