As the school year has progressed, fewer members of the Undergraduate Assembly have attended the group's weekly general body meetings.
At the UA's budget meeting last Sunday, eight of the 33 general body members were absent, and two were tardy.
According to UA Chairman Jason Levine, the meeting -- in which the UA distributed $1.44 million between the student government branches -- was the most important of the year.
The attendance at Sunday's meeting represented a low for the body this year.
The average number of absences at general body meetings has increased from three last semester to five this semester.
"There's not always a direct correlation between the effectiveness of a body member and the number of meetings they attend," Levine said, adding that attendance is still a fundamental part of being a UA representative.
Although College freshman Jason Karsh agreed that there is not necessarily a correlation, he said, "the members that are productive and the members that are doing all the projects seem to always be there."
Karsh has not missed a meeting since being elected to the board in October.
Levine cited the Greek recruitment period and additional extracurricular commitments as reasons for the increased absences this semester. He added that attendance generally wanes during the spring.
"It's not lack of interest or lack of passion," UA Vice Chairwoman and Wharton junior Cynthia Wong said. "Issues just come up, and they need to be taken care of."
According to Levine, midterms were a large cause of the absences at the last budget meeting.
"While it's disappointing, I think that the result of our budget was received positively," Levine said. "I don't think the budget would have changed if there were more members there."
The lack of attendance at the budget meeting received mixed reactions from other student government chairs whose groups were affected by the decisions.
"I was disappointed," Student Committee on Undergraduate Education Chairwoman Farrah Freis said.
"We elect them, and they do a tremendous amount for us, but at one of the most important meetings of the year where they decide issues that are really important and relevant to the student body, I want my elected representatives there," the College junior added.
But Student Activities Coun-cil Chairman Phil Gommels was indifferent toward the low attendance.
"I consider it more of an internal matter for the UA," Gommels said. "I don't feel very strongly about [their attendance] one way or another."
Undergraduate Assembly members are allowed to miss 25 percent of all general body and committee meetings before they are removed from the body. The assembly has met 17 times this year, if a member has missed five meetings, that is technically over the limit.
If a member is approaching the limit, he or she is notified by the UA Executive Board.
After exceeding the limit, the member may appeal the decision, and the rest of the body votes on whether to reinstate the member.
Engineering senior Sean Lambert is the only UA member to have been kicked off the body for lack of attendance this year. Lambert appealed the decision last semester, and the UA voted unanimously to reinstate him.
According to Lambert, his 5.5 credits as an Engineering student along with recruiting interviews and a new job made it difficult to attend meetings.
Lambert has missed four of the six general body meetings held this semester -- the most of any member.
However, Levine emphasized that despite absences, Lambert has been an effective member, citing Lambert's role in changing the final exam schedule for next fall and his ongoing work on the UA Education Committee.
