New constitution

Clarity is essential to the effective functioning of any student government. The Students’ Association recently drafted a constitution that promises to make the student government work in a clearer manner.Without a clear system of governance put forth in the constitution, the government may become bogged down in problems resulting from vague definitions of the scope and powers of its different branches. Adopting this new constitution will avoid many potential pitfalls of obscurity in the current document.One of the major differences in the two documents in terms of the impact it could have on student government is the creation of the position of vice president. This is to be voted on by the student body at the same time as SA Presidential elections.This change will increase the number of directly elected representatives in the executive branch. This is a direction in which our government should move. We encourage students to sign the petition and ratify this constitution.Most of the other changes are geared toward increased clarification or designed to reflect already-implemented measures. These are good – it is imperative that the laws of our student government accurately reflect the reality of its functioning.In the interest of actually seeing this constitution enacted, we respectfully encourage the Senate to carry through this process next semester in the event that they fail to get sufficient signatures by the end of this year.This new constitution will not only streamline student government operations, but also provide an entirely new dimension of student representation, via the office of the vice president. These changes will only serve to help the government operate more efficiently, and we wholeheartedly support them.