Supporters for creating a senate in undergraduate student
government may be facing a time crunch in their petition
efforts.
According to the bylaws of the Undergraduate Students
Association, no signature gathering efforts are permitted during
10th week of any quarter.
The complex proposal of amendments to Undergraduate Students
Assocation constitution includes the creation of a legislative
senate, depoliticizing commissions, and enacting the Hare System of
proportional representation, which uses a single transferable
vote.
Supporters will have the first two weeks of spring quarter
before the petition is due to the Elections Board, if they hope to
place the initiative on the general election ballot in May.
Unless the initiative is submitted for a general ballot, a
special election would be required within 15 school days of
petition submission, according to Undergraduate Students
Association bylaws.
If a special election were to occur before the spring general
election, and the initiative passed, the changes it enacts would
have to be in effect for next year’s governing body.
Nathan Lam, Elections Board chairman, said that it will be too
close to the general elections for a special election to be held.
The general election process for Undergraduate Students Association
Council begins first week of spring quarter.
“Trying to change the political system after (the election
process) has already begun is something you can’t really
do,” Lam said.
The Elections Board is unsure as to how exactly they will
proceed if the petition is submitted before elections, Lam
said.
“This is a scenario that the (Elections Code)
doesn’t account for,” he said.
Brian Neesby, the author of the senate proposal, stated that
senate supporters are on track to meet their quota ““ 15
percent of the undergraduate student body, or 3,634 valid
signatures. As far as the progress of their campaign, supporters
will soon begin to reach out to student groups and offer
information to interested students.
“We haven’t really started campaigning yet ““
our focus is getting it on the ballot,” Neesby said.
Neesby currently serves the Financial Supports Commission as
chief of staff, but his campaign to create a senate within USAC is
not on the commission’s behalf.
Bruin Republicans, Bruin Democrats, the Jewish Student Union and
On Campus Housing Council have already voted to endorse the senate
proposal.
USAC voted 6-2 with one abstention at their March 1 meeting in
favor of a resolution denouncing the senate proposal.
Pavan Tripathi, Facilities commissioner, and Alex Gruenberg,
Financial Supports commissioner, voted against the resolution,
while Darren Chan, internal vice president, abstained.
The resolution states that the majority of USAC stands by the
effectiveness of their current commission-based system, and
criticizes the feasibility and effectiveness of the senate
structure, as well as its complicated voting system.
If the measure is passed on the general election ballot, the
changes would not go into effect until the 2006-2007 academic
year.
The USAC constitution states that “Initiative measures
approved by popular vote may not be amended in whole or in part by
the Council in office at the time the measures are so
approved.”
However, this does not prevent next year’s council from
altering or even abolishing the changes before they would go into
effect.