This board endorses the Vacancy Amendment – a clear and simple solution to a glaring flaw in the Undergraduate Students Association Council constitution. However, we do have reservations about whether future councils will actually obey the document.
The current USAC constitution does not provide guidelines on how to fill a completely new office, as the council had to do with the new transfer representative position. The council also had to fill a vacancy in the General Representative 2 office with unclear and unfeasible constitutional guidelines after Nihal Satyadev resigned in the beginning of the summer.
The current wording of the constitution requires that vacant positions like the general representative 2 vacancy be filled in 15 days, an incredibly unrealistic deadline.
The proposed amendment will give council 28 days to fill the position and clarifies that a special election cannot be held during winter or summer breaks. Both changes are obvious and needed to ensure that as many students as possible will be informed about a special election.
This board does have reservations about the effectiveness of such an amendment without any repercussions for failing to follow its set guidelines. The council removed a clause that would have halted all of its powers if it failed to meet the four-week deadline.
Ramifications for failing to follow the constitution would have kept the council accountable to their constitution and forced them to treat the amendment as more than a suggested guideline. If the amendment passes, we urge this council and councils to come to treat their guiding documents with the seriousness and respect they deserve.