Student Council voted down a resolution last night that would have allowed the Honor Committee to use Council's Web server to hold a special election for its seriousness clause referendum. The resolution failed 8-12-1.
Commerce Rep. Dan Austin proposed the resolution, which would have given Council's support to the Committee, enabling a special online vote on Council's server that would let students vote on whether to remove the seriousness clause from honor cases involving cheating.
The Committee requested a special election because it missed the deadline for placing referenda on Council's spring election ballot.
Council President Taz Turner said Council members voted against the resolution for several reasons.
"Passing the resolution would set a precedent that would allow any organization that we hold elections for to propose having a special election for their referendum," Turner said. "Council felt that if the seriousness referendum was an important issue to incoming honor representatives it would come up again in time for the fall elections."
Brock Jolly, Council vice president for administration, also said he hesitated to pass the resolution. "I have a lot of concerns about the issue," Jolly said. "Student Council is bound to follow their constitution. If honor wants to bend their rules they can, but I don't believe that Student Council should."
Turner emphasized that Council's decision not to pass the resolution was not a dispute between Council and the Committee and that Council will support the Committee if it decides to hold its own elections.
College Rep. Nathan A. Cook said he agrees with Turner.
"I'm certain that all the representatives support the Honor Committee's efforts to both strengthen the honor code and represent students' interests, but in this one specific case a majority of us felt that passing the resolution went beyond the powers of Student Council," Cook said.
Committee Vice Chairman for Education Peter Leary said the Committee will look for other ways to present the referendum beginning tomorrow morning.
"It is an unfortunate situation, but the most important thing is to bring this issue to the students," he said. "I believe there are viable means other than the Student Council Web site to present the referendum to the student body and I hope we have student support in our efforts"
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