The College Advisory Board last night approved a referendum that will be voted on by members of the College of Arts & Sciences Nov. 2-4. The referendum puts forth five major changes to the current constitution of the Advisory Board -- a constitution that has not been changed since it was written in 1993.
College Advisory Board President Matthew Rose said the first major change "formalizes" the existence of the ex-officio, non-voting members of the Honor Committee, the University Judiciary Committee and Student Council.
The referendum also will formalize the full membership of College First-Year and Second-Year Class Representatives.
"It gives first and second-year representatives the ability to vote and more connection to what will happen," Advisory Board member Brian Maxted said.
The third change the referendum presents deals with the selection of the College Academic Department and Interdisciplinary Degree Program representatives. In the current constitution, there are no set guidelines for who should elect representatives.
"Groups of students in department clubs should choose who will represent them. It is more logical for them to choose from among their peers, and it anchors the College Advisory Board to a more grass-roots level," Rose said.
The referendum also creates non-voting seats for College Liaisons from each Class Council and the Echols Council.
The liaisons "increase community and communications in the College," he said.
The fifth change clarifies powers that are vague in the current constitution.
"Looking over the constitution, [powers] were implied -- now they are more integrated," Rose said.
The proposed changes, however, have raised concerns among some Student Council members.
Justin Pfeiffer, Student Council Liaison to the Advisory Board, voiced his concerns and put forth an amendment to the referendum last night at the Advisory Board meeting.
He took issue with Article III, section 7, which deals with the impeachment of members.
The wording of the section allowed for the Board to be able to impeach "any member" and goes on to say if that person is a representative to the Honor Committee, University Judiciary Committee or Student Council, their "impeachment and/or dismissal shall affect only their membership on the Board and not their positions in their respective organizations."
Pfeiffer said the wording should be changed to "any voting member" and that the addition concerning representatives should be stricken from the referendum because an ex-officio member should not be able to be impeached.
"It is very important that an organization not interfere with the Honor and Judiciary Committees and Student Council. I don't like to see a power in a constitution that could be abused by a future board," he said.
The amendment was voted on and failed to pass.
For the referendum to be ratified, a majority of at least 10 percent of College students need to vote affirmative.
The Advisory Board is hoping to improve on last year's meager turnout of 7 percent by posting fliers and sending out e-mails to inform students about the elections, Rose said.
Read More
BREAKING: Two fraternities suspended, one terminated after hazing allegations
By Ford McCracken | 4 hours agoThe University’s chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha is the founding chapter of the fraternity, which was founded in West Range room 47 in 1868.
From the archives: April 22 – April 28
By Maisy Callahan and Grace Franklin | 6 hours agoThose opposed to the Mall feared closing Main St. would create inconvenience and traffic, which would in turn decrease the income made by merchants.
Students for Justice in Palestine criticizes University at “die-in” on Lawn
By Thomas Baxter | YesterdayThe protest consisted of a speech by Josh Rosenberg, SJP president and third-year College student, followed by the reading of the names of 65 killed Palestinians.
