At last Wednesday’s meeting, the Student Senate voted on the removal of three of its members for failure to meet constitutional requirements, leaving several senate seats vacant and needing to be filled before its next meeting.

The three senators were removed from their positions in SGA by a unanimous vote from the student senators, with no abstentions.

Both Bryce McKenzie, chair of the senate, and M.G. Bailey, president of the senate, cited a failure in meeting senatorial requirements outlined by the SGA constitution as the reason for the removal.

“They (the three senators) were removed from office for neglect of duty and responsibilities as a senator,” Bailey said. “It was either failure to attend meetings and/or failure to complete projects.”

According to the constitution, each senator, whether academic or residential, must attend all meetings or be represented by proxy, which is a person appointed to attend in their place, as well as work on one project or propose one piece of legislation per semester.

In addition to the vacancies left in the senate by this vote, there are several other senate seats open because of either personal resignation or internships.

Bailey also said that some positions, such as one senate seat in the College of Education, were never filled during the last election, and still remain open for application.

To fill these positions, the Student Senate is currently accepting applications on their Web site, which can be accessed at http://web.utk.edu/~sga.

A total of 15 seats are available. The 13 residential positions include one for Massey Hall, two for Humes Hall, three for Hess Hall, one for Melrose Hall, one for North Carrick Hall, three commuter seats and two for rental properties. Of the two academic seats, one is available in the College of Education and one in the College of Business.

Bailey asked that all applications be submitted online by Friday, so that interviews may be scheduled as soon as possible.

“We will decide the interview dates depending on when we receive the applications,” Bailey said.

Bailey also said that the panel of interviewers will be composed of McKenzie and perhaps himself and some members of the SGA Executive Council. He hopes to have all senators in place by the next senate meeting on Feb. 3.

Those chosen will serve as interim senators until the regular SGA elections later in the spring, when they have the chance of being elected to serve full-year terms.

Bailey said, however, that if the positions are not filled now through application, they will remain vacant until a senator is elected in the normal process.

“This is going to be our week to focus on getting people to apply,” Bailey said. “I just encourage people to get involved in student government, and the Student Senate is a great way to do that.”

Sarah Keeton, president of SGA, also commented on the application process and those who should apply for positions.

“We want people who are dedicated to these positions and who will take into consideration their constituents,” she said. “We want people who are excited about student government.”

The three senators removed from office did not return e-mails or phone calls from The Daily Beacon.

When asked her opinion on the matter as a whole, Keeton replied, “It’s always very frustrating to see senators who aren’t fulfilling their requirements, especially when there are people who really wanted these seats, but weren’t elected.”