Changes to the newly approved Student Council constitution have caused misunderstandings in recent weeks. Council plans to revise its bylaws this summer to enhance clarity and improve the efficiency of its processes.
The new constitution was adopted following the student body's approval of a spring referendum.
Graduate Arts & Sciences Rep. Tom Bryan said the speed with which the constitution was changed left things such as date of implementation "ambiguous" and said Council deliberation that recommended the new constitution should have occurred after new officers transitioned into their roles.
He added that now the newly elected Council is "stuck with sorting out things, without having been part of the original process."
Bryan said there have been instances in which changes from the constitution have caused unnecessary confusion, such as determining when the new constitution officially went into effect.
This confusion manifested itself when it became unclear whether executive board members were allowed to vote in appropriations appeals earlier this month. The new constitution does not allow executive board members to vote on issues and at the appeals hearing, Council failed to make quorum in part because it was not clear whether the executive members were qualified to vote.
Several other meetings have been also interrupted to clarify processes, including last Tuesday's allocations appeals procedure, which Council members felt was unclear.
Student Council President Lauren Tilton said adapting to the constitution will go "a lot smoother, once we get the bylaws to work better." Tilton added that the current bylaws are outdated and "make it difficult to take advantage of the flexibility that the new constitution was supposed to provide."
According to Tilton, the executive board will spend the summer working to revise the bylaws to have things clear by the start of next semester.
Tilton said the revision will include rewriting of the bylaws.
"Revising the bylaws will allow Student Council to run more smoothly internally so that we can be more externally focused," Tilton said.
Council Executive Vice President Melissa Warnke said the new Council will do its best to uphold the new constitution but hopes to focus on other things in the coming semester, emphasizing that the newly elected representatives seem very dedicated.
Warnke said Student Council procedure prevents new representatives from becoming voting members until the appropriations process is complete. She added that despite their nonvoting status, representatives have already shown intense dedication serving as proxies for absent voting members, attending meetings and sitting through five-hour-long appeals.
Warnke said the new members were also extremely helpful in organizing the University response to the Virginia Tech tragedy earlier this month.
"I am already intrigued by the ideas, the drive and the commitment they have shown to coming together to get things done," Warnke said. "I'm really excited."
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