A coalition that includes many Reform SA! members last night presented an agenda to steer the Student Assembly toward basic student issues.
John Bennett '96, an Assembly representative, introduced the plan which carried the approval of 13 other members to try "to give this body some direction that it did not have," Bennett said.
Nine of the 13 sponsors, including Bennett, are members of Reform SA! and two are freshmen.
The plan's statement of purpose made several references to Reform SA!, the group that won 15 of the 21 at-large Assembly seats in student elections last year.
Assembly President Nicole Artzer '94 called the plan's wording politically divisive.
"There are to be no more references to any faction in this group," Artzer said. "Everyone was elected by the student body. ... It's inappropriate to do this under a certain name. It's irrelevant now. It's divisive and absolutely unnecessary."
But Bennett said there was no political intent in the proposed plan.
"If Artzer's going to blame us for playing political games, she's absolutely wrong," he said. The Assembly "had absolutely no agenda and no direction."
Bennett also chastised Assembly members, saying such an agenda "should have been proposed by someone in the executive committee at their first meeting."
After the meeting, Artzer said she disagreed with Bennett's claim that the Assembly lacks direction.
"That's absolutely incorrect. For anyone to think that, it's out of ignorance," she said. "The only reason people could think that is if people distance themselves from the Assembly."
Assembly members voiced their support of Artzer's attack of Reform SA!.
"The suggestions made are great," said Mitch Jacobs '94, who Artzer appointed to the executive committee. "And I don't think anyone in this room disagrees with what was said. But the way it was presented makes me feel like I'm excluded."
Bennett's proposal addressed five aspects of social services--telephone services, housing, dining, athletics and safety services.
David Robinson '95, a plan sponsor, proposed three motions addressing telephone services at the College.
Those motions call for a new telephone system, greater access to long-distance accounts and credit-based billing methods.
The motions now must go to committees before being formally proposed before the general Assembly.
This is not the first time Artzer and Reform SA! have faced off.
At the first Assembly meeting of the term, Assembly Representative Grant Bosse '94, a Reform SA! member, proposed the formation of a special committee to evaluate the constitutionality of many of Artzer's executive committee appointments.
Of Artzer's 10 appointments, only one was a member of Reform SA!. "I'm disappointed that Nicole ignored the results of the election," Bosse said.
The temporary committee voided seven of Artzer's 10 appointments because they were not elected during Spring term.
Artzer said she hoped the seven students would sail through the nominations process and be full voting members by now.
But only three members including Jacobs have been approved so far.
