Campus religious leaders approve bylaws, code of ethics

Bylaws were approved 9-3, and the code of ethics was approved unanimously.

By Daniel Everson

Published April 20, 2009

The Association of Campus Religious Advisors voted Wednesday to approve a new set of bylaws and new code of ethics.

The vote follows years of discussion about potential revisions to the bylaws and code of ethics, ACRA President Michael Will said. Will made the revisions a priority when he became president last June and said he is thrilled the documents were approved.

"The group is making a strong statement to the university that we want to support each other and honor each other," Will said.

Multicultural Center Director Pablo Mendoza, who serves as MU's liaison to ACRA, said he was glad to see Wednesday's discussion and vote centered on what is best for students.

"Many campuses don't have a relationship with the campus ministers. We're one of the few that do," Mendoza said. "What we have as a benefit here is a way of ensuring that we have people who really will care for students in an appropriate manner."

Will initiated a final phase of revisions at ACRA's November meeting. Revision work continued at the January meeting, where members decided a sub-committee should meet to revise ACRA's bylaws. That committee, open to any members who wished to attend, met three times in January and February. After further editing in March, ACRA voted on the new documents Wednesday.

Thirteen of ACRA's 16-member organizations were present for the vote. The new bylaws were approved 9-3, with one abstention. The code of ethics was unanimously approved.

Some amendments, such as the establishment of voting and amendment procedures and the establishment of a membership chairman, received little attention at the meeting. But several issues required further discussion prior to the vote.

Members debated whether attendance requirements should apply to each ACRA organization or to each organization's individual members. Since attendance requirements had previously been unwritten, Will made it a priority to define them in the bylaws.

"We're trying to shore up our professionalization," Will said.

The group reached a consensus that one member from each organization must be present at a minimum of one meeting per semester.

"I think, given the history of the groups not having any requirements, moving in a little bit slower pace would make sense," Will said. "It's been tough to get any kind of attendance requirement going."

Members spent most of the meeting discussing ACRA's presence at Summer Welcome. ACRA organizations have traditionally been represented together at one table at the activities fair. In recent years, Veritas Campus Ministry has branched off to run its own table. This action violated what some organizations perceived as an unwritten understanding that ACRA organizations were to be represented only through the ACRA table.

Angelle Hall and JoAnn Jorgovan, both from the Newman Center, argued if each organization were left to run its own table, smaller organizations would not be adequately represented at Summer Welcome.

"I'm really concerned about our ministries who have only one person," Hall said.

About an hour into the meeting, Will suggested a vote on the particular amendment regarding the Summer Welcome table. Those present approved the amendment, 7-5, before finally approving the bylaws and the code of ethics.