Dear Tara West and “Dear Editor”Cc: Dr. Fred Gainous ; Student Affairs RE: Approval causes upheaval in Senate – By Tara West – Published: Wednesday, September 15, 2004 (Legal feedback, so you may want to forward this to the University’s legal experts to verify my analysis here.) With respect to your story, I think you did a good job. Regarding the dispute, I would like to weigh in, as I have legal experience: My page on court cases, including Terri’s Law:http://hometown.aol.com/Gww1210/myhomepage/CourtCases.html#TerrisLawCaseor: http://www.geocities.com/Gordon_Watts32313/CourtCases.html#TerrisLawCase The Fla Supreme Court’s page, where the “Watts” briefs, my filings, are kept:http://www.flcourts.org/pubinfo/summaries/briefs/04/04-925/index.htmlor: http://www.firn.edu/supct/pubinfo/summaries/briefs/04/04-925/index.html If the Student Body Constitution requires the two-thirds vote, it can not be overridden by the senate, be it by waiver or by passing a new law. In case you don’t understand the legalities of it, the constitution is higher than laws or rules. Here are a few examples to put it into perspective: * In Florida, we are seeing citizens’ initiative to vote to change the Florida Constitution to allow laws to be passed to give parental notification in abortions. Without it, the laws passed presumably would be unconstitutional. * In the hit TV series, Star Trek, the “Prime Directive” is above all else: “The Prime Directive states that we must not, for any reason, interfere with the natural development of a less advanced culture, and that we must also not interfere with the internal affairs of any government outside of the Federation.” (http://www.lbow.com/ufp.htm) “…no Star Fleet personnel may interfere with the healthy development of alien life and culture…This directive takes precedence over any and all other considerations, and carries with it the highest moral obligation.” (http://www.70disco.com/startrek/primedir.htm) Here, in FAMU’s Student Senate, the Student Body Constitution is the “Prime Directive,” and, while I am sure that both candidates in question are dedicated and would make fine student senators, neither one can be confirmed if they did not receive the necessary votes, whatever that number may be. Had the Constitution not required this two-thirds vote, then the Student Senate would be free to waive the rules. I would advise four things: 1) This matter be forwarded to both the Student Supreme Court -and the Student Affairs office, which oversees student activities; 2) Consider changes to the Constitution of you do not like it; 3) Be mature enough to accept the rule of law, knowing that our creator will help us through these situations, and that principle is better than immediate gain; and, lastly, 4) Watch Star Trek and visit my web pages. It might be enjoyable! PS: While my degrees (see below) are not in law, I did graduate with honors in every college I attended, and I am correct about the above: Ask any law student, law professor, or lawyer if you doubt me. I hope this information is helpful. FAMU is a great school, and you should know that! Additionally, some research on some of my pages here: http://hometown.aol.com/gww1210/myhomepage/consumer.html or: http://www.geocities.com/Gordon_Watts32313/consumer.html or: http://gordon_watts.tripod.com/consumer.html addresses skyrocketing rates of type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, and obesity, and ways to address them, including foods to avoid, information that is not common knowledge. Gordon Wayne Watts http://gordonwatts.com/ BS, The Florida State University, Biological and Chemical SciencesAS, United Electronics Institute821 Alicia RoadLakeland, FL 33801-2113http://HomeTown.AOL.com/Gww1210 or http://www.GeoCities.com/Gordon_Watts32313Home: (863) 688-9880 Work: (863) 686-3411 Voice&FAX: (863) 687-6141Gww1210@aol.com ; Gww12102002@Yahoo.comTruth is the strongest, most stable force in the Universe.TRUTH doesn’t bend to the will of tyrants.Gordon Wayne WattsGet Truth.
“First, they [Nazis] came for the Jews. I was silent. I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists. I was silent. I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists. I was silent. I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me. There was no one left to speak for me.” (Martin Niemoller, given credit for a quotation in The Harper Religious and Inspirational Quotation Companion, ed. Margaret Pepper (New York: Harper &Row, 1989), 429 -as cited on page 44, note 17, of Religious Cleansing in the American Republic, by Keith A. Fornier, Copyright 1993, by Liberty, Life, and Family Publications.
(Actually, they may not have come for the Jews first, as it’s far more likely they came for the prisoners, mentally handicapped, and other so-called “inferiors” first -as historians tell us -so they could get “practiced up;” But, they did come for them -due to the silence of their neighbors -and due, in part, to their own silence. So the general idea is correct: “Speak up now, or forever hold your peace.” –gordon)**