As the Student Assembly grapples with a number of proposals aimed at reducing the problems that have plagued it for the last two years, the only thing agreed to by almost everyone is that some kind of reform is necessary.
"The same problems come up every year," said Dean of Student Life Holly Sateia, the Assembly's adviser.
Sateia said the key to a reform plan lies in improving the representation and accountability of Assembly members.
"It is important to think of how members can share their platforms with the students whom they represent," she said.
Senior Class Vice President and former Assembly member Hosea Harvey said, "Without a student assembly, the student's voice is severely diminished."
"It is better to engage in substantial overhaul" than let it become ineffective, he said.
Assembly President Rukmini Sichitiu '95 said she believes any reform must tackle the issue of support for the leaders of the Assembly and the goals that they wish to achieve.
"The people who the student body put confidence in should be able to carry out their visions," she said.
After Assembly Vice President John Honovich '97 last week proposed the adjournment of the Assembly, both Sichitiu and former Assembly member Kenji Sugahara '95 proposed plans to restructure the Assembly.
"All of the plans have potential," Honovich said. "It is just a matter of researching and talking out the issues involved."
Under Sichitiu's plan, an external review committee would be formed to examine the Assembly and suggest reform.
The committee will be composed of three Assembly members, three students from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration and three members of Paleopitus, a senior leadership organization. Sateia will be the committee's adviser.
"I think Rukmini's plan is a great idea, because it recognizes the importance of having Assembly students involved in the process of reform," Harvey said.
Sugahara's proposal would replace the Assembly with two new groups -- a "Student Services Council" that would deal with items like the course guide and the "Student Opinion Council" that would relay opinions to the administration.
His proposal was inspired by a plan developed by Sara Wasserbauer '95 and Michael Anderson '96 last fall.
"I got fed up with people writing editorials about how fed up they were with the Assembly," Wasserbauer said. "No one was offering any concrete plans of action."
"Obviously the way the SA is currently structured is ineffective, and has lost creditability with the student body," she said. "What we proposed may not be flawless, but at least it's a start."
But Sichitiu said "Kenji's plan doesn't address the structural problems the SA faces."
"The problem has never been issues," she said. "The problem is when a controversial issue comes up and people start to do political maneuvering. The committee involving policy issues will have the same problems that the Assembly has had."
