The intent of the Public Comment Policy is to allow interested people the opportunity to address the Washburn University Board of Regents while at the same time permitting the Board to conduct the business of the University in an effective and efficient way. This policy balances the interests of all parties.
1. Relevancy. All public comment must be directly relevant to the business of the Washburn University Board of Regents. Public comment about an item on the agenda will be conducted at the time the agenda item is considered. Public comment not related to an agenda item will be conducted as the final item of Board action on the agenda. Speakers are not to repeat the comments of previous speakers on the same agenda item. Any handouts or referenced documents shall be provided to the Secretary for the record.
2. Time Limitations. Persons addressing the Board of Regents will be limited to four (4) minutes of public address on a particular agenda item. An affirmative vote of the Board is required to extend the time limit.
3. Addressing the Board. Persons desiring to address the Board shall first secure the permission of the presiding officer. The Board authorizes the Secretary to the Board to place the name of any person who wants to address the Board on the agenda if they have made notification in writing of that intent one (1) business day prior to the date of the meeting. The presiding officer may instruct the Secretary to allow persons to sign up to speak at the meeting provided they identify themselves to the Secretary and state the topic of their comments.
4. Manner of Addressing the Board. Each person addressing the Board shall give his/her full name for the record. All remarks shall be addressed to the Board as a body and not to any member thereof. No person, other than members of the Board and the person having the floor, shall be permitted to enter into any discussion, either directly or through the members of the Board. No questions shall be asked of the Board members or by Board members, except through the presiding officer.
5. Personal or Slanderous Remarks. The following will not be tolerated: uttering fighting words, slander, speeches intended to inflict severe emotional distress, speeches invasive of the privacy of individuals, unreasonably loud or repetitious speech, speeches so disruptive of Board proceedings that the deliberative process is substantially interrupted. Any individual engaging in any of these will be warned once by the Chair, and if engaged again, the speaker will be ordered to leave the podium and the premises, if necessary.
May, 1999