Members of the Council of Representatives convened Monday evening to discuss their ongoing work on revamping the Student Union constitution.
Student body president Jeremy Lao emphasized the group's need to create a finalized, well-written constitution.
"What I really want to stress for the rest of this semester is to write this constitution well," Lao said. "April 1 is the deadline."
The meeting's discussion centered around the programming side of student government. Though members disagreed on final details, they did approve a plan to create a Campus Programming Council, which would consist of one representative from each residence hall. The CPC would work on campus-wide events, essentially taking on the role of the current Student Union Board. In addition, members approved the concept of a Residential Programming Council, also composed of representatives from each dorm.
Hall Presidents Council co-chair Sarah Keefer and SUB manager Charlie Ebersol proposed having CPC, RPC and Campus Affairs Council candidates run on the same ticket within each dorm to facilitate communication. Keefer said unified tickets would be an improvement over the present system.
"There are a lot of hall presidents who never see their senators," she said.
Some members, however, expressed doubt that these tickets would produce the best candidates, and Lao sent the debate to a committee for further discussion.
Keefer urged members to approve the idea, saying that further delays could cause problems in upcoming elections.
"If we table this until next week ... we could be a week beyond our deadline," she said.
Keefer said the CPC and RPC would report to a Programming Council Executive Cabinet to coordinate work on campus-wide and dorm events.
"They would keep a synthesized calendar," she said.
Lao created three committees to hammer out details in the policy, programming and administrative areas of the new constitution. He also expressed concern that the council's work on the document might come at the expense of student welfare.
"Issues on campus haven't been expressed as much," Lao said.
Cavanaugh senator Jordan Bongiovanni echoed the sentiment.
"I've been hearing a lot of complaints," she said. "People are upset that the executive branch isn't keeping up with student needs."
In other COR news:
u Club Coordination Council president Seth O'Donnell announced that at least two members from each undergraduate club must attend their respective division meetings next week. On Jan. 27, members from the academic and athletic divisions will meet. On Jan. 28, the meeting will include cultural and performing arts clubs. On Jan. 29, social service and special interest clubs will convene.
O'Donnell also encouraged students to run in the upcoming CCC division elections. Representatives will be elected from each of the six divisions. Candidates - who must be dues-paying members of a recognized undergraduate club - must attend one of the three CCC division meetings.
