A campaign to change the structure of student government to a
senate-based system via a campus-wide special election is underway,
following the rejection of the proposal by the Undergraduates
Students Association Council Tuesday night.
The senate structure, first proposed last year, would convert
USAC from a council of 13 voting members to a structure consisting
of 20 voting legislative senators, five voting executive positions
and five non-voting commissioners.
The USAC Council voted 7-5 Tuesday night, falling two votes
short of the two-thirds majority which would have given students
the chance to vote on the proposal.
Some council members say the senate proposal would be more
representative of the student population and would help
de-politicize USAC by giving independent candidates a better chance
of being elected, rather than the current system where only two
slates are represented on council. Other council members believe
the current system is already representative and effective.
Opposers said a senate system would encourage bureaucracy and
increase focus on politics.
USAC will adopt the new senate structure if two thirds of
students voting in a special election approve it.
The special election petition, which is already underway,
requires 4,000 student signatures in order for an election to be
held. The special election will be the last opportunity this year
to pass the senate proposal, which USAC has debated for over a
year.
USAC General Representative Brian Neesby, who authored the
proposal, is heading the special election effort.
He and his supporters believe that it will be easy to collect
the signatures because, in a similar petition last year, more than
4,000 signatures were collected.
Last year an earlier version of the senate proposal did not pass
at Council, and while enough signatures were collected on the
petition, hundreds could not be verified because they were
illegible or students did not use their legal names.
The petition was left nine signatures short of the required 15
percent of the undergraduate student population.
General Representative Marwa Kaisey said last year’s
efforts should not have been dismissed.
“4,000 signatures should not have been thrown out because
of nine. We don’t have the right to deny these (students)
what they want,” she said.
Students started signing the current petition Wednesday evening,
Neesby said.
Prior to signing the petition, students are given a brief
overview of the proposal and informed that their signature is not a
vote for or against the senate proposal, but merely a means to
establish a way to vote, Neesby said.
Student signatures are being collected on the Hill during meal
hours outside of the dining halls, with the permission of the On
Campus Housing Council. Signatures are also being collected during
classes but only with the permission of professors.
Most petition efforts will be concentrated on the Hill and in
class rather than a central location like Bruin Walk because
students on Bruin Walk are usually too busy and uninterested to
sign a petition, Neesby said.
Once the required signatures have been collected and verified,
the petition must be formally presented to USAC. The special
election must be held within fifteen days of this presentation.
Senate proposal supporters hope to present the completed
petition to USAC sometime later this quarter to ensure that the
special election would be held prior to the general spring
election, Neesby said.
Some council members express concern over the cost of holding a
potential special election, which is estimated at $5,000 and was
not planned in USAC’s budget. However, others insist that a
special election is worth the time and money.
USAC President Jenny Wood said she will not be campaigning
against the special election, but will continue to speak with a
variety of student groups about “why the senate is
detrimental to campus,” she said.