Student Council introduced three possible referenda last night that will be voted on at next week's meeting. If passed they will be placed on the spring ballot to be voted on by the entire student body.
Because all Council legislation must be tabled for at least one week, the referenda can be voted on at next Tuesday's meeting.
The first of these referenda would make the voting records of all Council members available online to the University community.
According to Gavin Reddick, one of three representatives sponsoring the bill, the referendum has been brought up three times before, but each time has failed to achieve the necessary majority to pass.
"I can't see any reason why it wouldn't pass, but then I couldn't see any reason why it wouldn't have passed last time either," Reddick said.
Reddick added that it seems obvious that this sort of information should be available to the students so that they can make more informed choices while voting.
The other two referenda would allow students to vote on whether or not to maintain the additional reading days during exams and whether or not to renew the University's contract with Pepsi.
According to Council Executive Vice President Whitney Garrison, the purpose of the two referenda is to gauge student opinion on these issues.
"No immediate action can be taken on the University calendar or on the University's contract with Pepsi," Garrison said.
She added that the results of the vote could be used to negotiate a new contract with Pepsi or a contract with another soft drink company.
With regard to the reading days schedule, Council President Noah Sullivan said because this is the first semester the new schedule has been used, some people would like to wait before assessing student opinion that might prematurely be negative.
"What many students don't realize is that every five years we will have to stay until December 21, regardless," Sullivan said.
In order to get a referendum on the ballot, Council requires either a two-thirds majority of Council members and the signatures of twenty-five students submitted to Council on a petition or a three-fourths majority of Council members.
At least 1,000 students must sign a petition to attain a referendum outside the Council.
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