ASUS faces student criticism over Senate appointment process

ASUS leaders say a ratified motion makes a Senate appointment binding, despite calls for the seat to return to an election.

A procedural controversy has emerged within the Arts and Science Undergraduate Society (ASUS) after a student Senate seat meant to be elected by students was appointed and ratified in October 2024 and wasn’t reopened for election in the Winter 2025 cycle.

The ASUS Constitution states that interim Senate appointments must only last until the next election, but the seat in question, currently held by Edlira Ballaj ArtSci ’26, is the AMS commissioner of external affairs. Her interim seat was ratified for a full two-year term. As the Fall 2025 by-election to fill ASUS positions begins, the decision not to recontest the seat has raised concerns about constitutional adherence, transparency, and the integrity of student representation on the University Senate.

A member of the ASUS Advisory Board, Caleb Rasmussen, ArtSci ’27 is calling on ASUS to reopen a student Senate seat that he claims wasn’t properly filled. In an interview with The Journal, Rasmussen said it was an issue he had noticed during the winter elections, as he was planning to run for the two-year Senate seat.

“I knew the position should be open. It was a position I was hoping to fill. And then the position wasn’t opened. And I was very concerned by that,” Rasmussen said.

While Ballaj was appointed by the ASUS Executive and ratified by the ASUS Assembly in October 2024, Rasmussen argues that her appointment, which wasn’t labelled interim, violates ASUS’s constitutional rules.

“If it wasn’t corrected for the election last winter, in my mind, it should be corrected for the election that’s going to start tomorrow,” he said. “I brought my concern to Tina [Scott], who then said she’d look into it. And then when nominations opened for this election, I noticed nothing was done.”

Tina Scott, ASUS governance officer, acknowledged the error but defended the Assembly’s decision as procedurally binding.

“This was an oversight, not a breach,” Scott wrote in a statement to The Journal. “Removing Edlira from her legitimately ratified role without a formal removal process would, in turn, be a challenge to the Constitution.”

Scott emphasized that the language used in the October 2024 motion didn’t clarify the appointment as interim, and once passed by the Assembly, the term became constitutionally valid. She cited Section 5.02.04 of the ASUS Constitution, which states that “the decisions of the Assembly shall be binding on the Executive.”

Scott also mentioned Sylvie Garabedian, who served as the AMS Secretariat the previous year, confirmed the legitimacy of Ballaj’s term in writing and that ASUS has no intention of initiating removal proceedings.

“The AMS Secretariat confirmed this term in an e-mail to Edlira stating her term would be effective Oct. 14th, 2024, and run through to Aug. 31st, 2026.” Scott said.

Ballaj also shared her personal experience with her appointment in a statement to The Journal. She responded to the concerns by acknowledging the student who raised them, while emphasizing her own experience with the appointment.

She explained that the ASUS President approached her about filling the vacancy. At the time, Ballaj was serving as Deputy Commissioner of Academics and accepted the appointment “With the understanding that [she] would commit fully to the role for the remainder of the two-year term.”

“What matters most is that students feel heard, represented, and supported—and that is the standard I hold myself to,” she wrote.

According to Rasmussen, ASUS’s decision to maintain the appointment rather than open the seat to election isn’t just a technical error; it undermines student representation.

“In my mind, the position holds a lot of power in representing student voices,” he said. “And by not following the election policies and the simple fact that it is an elected position that’s currently held by someone that wasn’t elected to it, that’s a problem.”

Asked what corrective action he’d like to see, Rasmussen was clear: “An election.”