The General Assembly took place on Nov. 13 in the Living Room in the Campus Center to serve as a forum rather than an assembly, in the hope that this move would facilitate discussion between students and some members of faculty and administration. The agenda included the election of a new election commission member, a discussion about shared spaces on campus and finally a discussion of the Board of Appeals amendments proposed in the previous GA on Oct. 30. The forum passed the amendment on adding two associate members to the BoA in addition to the two existing associate members and one chief of the board. However, it voted to postpone the decision about ratifying the BoA’s new Rules and Procedures to the GA on Nov. 20.

Freshman Armaghan Khan, the sole candidate, was elected as the third election commission member by majority vote. The election commission will plan the elections of Sophomore and Junior Representatives for Spring 2017 to be held between November and December 2016.

For the discussion on shared spaces in campus, the forum separated into five groups. Each group had an Election Board member and a member of Campus Life or a faculty member to facilitate the discussion. Some of the common themes included access to the Baraha, Academic Writing Center and dining spaces. Several students raised issues with the Baraha, by definition a student activity space, being used by staff and faculty and their families. Upperclassmen pointed out that an exclusive student space equivalent to the Baraha existed in Sama Tower. Other students argued for dining spaces to be exclusive to students and to make the ARC accessible to students 24/7.

Student Government plans to continue the discussion about shared spaces in future GAs.

The first amendment passed by the forum was to add two associate members to the BoA.

The discussion about passing the second amendment, which was to implement the new BoA Rules and Procedures, was not able to fit into the allotted time. The Rules and Procedures document was published only a day before the forum, and the forum decided more time should be given to students to read through it before voting. Thus, the forum voted for a GA to be held on Nov. 20 to discuss the document in greater detail. The proposition passed by a majority, and participants were encouraged to read the Rules and Procedures document to prepare for further discussion at the next assembly.

Lastly, during the New Business segment, Global Vice President Patrick Wee announced that there will be focus groups on Nov. 20 to discuss the Global Students Council at NYU, and that those interested should contact him.