The Student Assembly voted last night to implement many of the changes proposed by the Student Assembly External Review Committee, drastically changing its internal structure, but it did not vote to change its name or alter student election procedures.
Next year, the Assembly will have a new structure with six vice presidents appointed by the president, and students and organizations will be able to petition for membership to the Assembly. The Assembly executives will also have more power.
"There's going to be a definite change in what it means to be a part of student government," said Hosea Harvey '95, chair of the committee, after the Assembly meeting finished at 1 a.m. He thanked the rest of the review committee for its efforts.
The new vice presidents will each oversee one of the Assembly's committees. The elected vice president, who is now called the executive vice president, will be in charge of a committee that will approve candidates petitioning for seats, review the performance of Assembly members and suggest the dismissal of negligent members.
Each general Assembly member will now only serve on one committee. Students or groups who are not elected to the Assembly need to get 125 signatures on a petition and approval by the Assembly to gain a seat. If the student or group does not get approval, they could still get an automatic seat if they present a petition with 500 signatures.
Under normal circumstances, Assembly membership will be capped at 50 members.
The Assembly voted down proposals to require presidential and vice presidential candidates to run on a ticket, and to have each class vote for eight representatives. Under the proposal, each student would only be able to vote for four general Assembly candidates.
Another major recommendation that will not be implemented was a proposal to change the name of the Assembly to the "Undergraduate Council" to better redefine student government.
Assembly Vice President John Honovich '97 proposed an amendment to have the Assembly keep its name, which was approved.
The review committee's original proposal was divided into changes of representation, structure and elections. The structure and elections sections were further divided into constitutional and non-constitutional sections.
Constitutional changes directly altered the Assembly's old constitution. Constitutional changes require three-quarters of the Assembly's approval while non-constitutional changes need one-half.
The Assembly voted to implement four of the five sections with several amendments. The Assembly easily voted down the constitutional election provisions.
"I think this is a fantastic step towards the betterment of this organization," Assembly President Rukmini Sichitiu '95 said.
Harvey said he was "very pleased" with last night's results, but would have liked for the constitutional election changes to have passed too.
"I'm extremely pleased," Assembly President-elect Jim Rich '96 said. "I think the Assembly took a step toward improving the Student Assembly for the future."
Assembly member Bill Kartalopoulos '97, who said he objected to many of the recommendations because he said they would create needless bureaucracy, led the conservative reaction to amend and slow the passage of the proposals.
At the beginning of the meeting, Kartalopoulos proposed an amendment that would have made the review committee's changes go into effect during the 1996-1997 school year instead of next year. But his amendment was voted down by the Assembly.
During the meeting, Kart-alopoulos constantly battled with members of the review committee by saying its recommendations were not well researched enough.
Sophomore Class Vice President Matt Shafer, a member of the review committee, said the proposals were something he put his "heart and soul into."
After the meeting, Kartalopoulos said he was happy that one of the sections did not pass.
Kartalopoulos also called for a tabling of the constitutional election changes, which would have suspended the motion until next fall when the new Assembly would decide on its fate.
Although he withdrew the motion because of boisterous objections by general Assembly members, Kartalopoulos goal was achieved when the entire section on constitutional election changes failed to garner the necessary three-quarters vote.
Rich, who said he supported many of the changes, said next year'sAssembly will probably consider the committee's proposed changes to election policy in the fall.
Shafer and the rest of the review committee agreed to several "friendly" amendments presented by Honovich to the proposed changes.
Among the friendly amendments, Honovich suggested making student elections one week later in Spring term.
The Assembly voted for Honovich's amendment prohibiting candidates to campaign within 60 meters of the polling center on election days, thus clearing hordes of student politicians from the Collis Center.
The Assembly also put off discussion on whether one of its vice presidents would also chair the Committee on Student Organizations.
