New SU Constitution approved
Over 400 students, almost 80 percent of voters, approved the proposed Student Union Constitution in the fall election last night. The constitution needed only a two-thirds majority to pass.
Over 500 people voted in the election, as reported by the SU Election Commission, headed by SU Attorney General Jeffery Lancaster. This was an increase of almost 70 percent from last fall’s election, said Lancaster. However, the number of voters was only about 10 percent of the total undergraduate population.
Several changes are in store for SU following the approval of the constitution, which was almost two years in the making.
“We wanted to create a more accessible, visible, and functional constitution for the entire student body,” said Constitution Review Committee Chairwoman Emily Reinhart in a previous Student Life interview.
The new constitution creates a bicameral legislature, the senate making up one branch, the other consisting of the newly created treasury branch. Whereas the senate used to be involved in distributing funds to student groups, this task will now be the sole responsibility of the treasury.
“We feel that this separation creates the transparency that SU needs,” Jason Green, former SU vice-president and CRC member told the SU Senate last spring.
The new constitution will free up senators, so they will have more time to interact with the student body and be advocates of student concerns to the administration.
Reinhart had told the senate that the constitution would attract a “new type” of SU representative.
“This type may be the student who is very interested and concerned about our campus but does not want to deal with what seems to be the politics and red tape of the current SU,” she said.
Another major change in the constitution is the elimination of the Attorney General position. The new constitution divides those duties between the election commissioner and the chief justice of the Constitutional Council.
Because students approved the document, the executive positions open for next spring’s election now will be president, vice president, secretary. Other available positions will include class council positions, school council positions (where applicable), senate seats, and the representative of the treasury.
Student groups applying for block funding will also be on the ballot as in previous years.
Popularity: 1% [?]
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