The Student Assembly passed a constitutional amendment last night which prohibits its Membership and Internal Affairs Committee from denying membership to representatives from student organizations.
Under the provisions of an amendment approved earlier this term, members of student organizations can become representatives of their groups on the Assembly, with full voting rights, by simply obtaining the approval of the group's president.
Previously, students could become members of the Assembly through at-large elections or by collecting student signatures.
In prior meetings, members were hesitant to vote on the fourth component of that amendment, which eliminates the current power of the MIAC to deny organizational representatives their seat on the Assembly if the MIAC determines them to be unfit.
However, the amendment passed last night with only one vote in opposition.
Many Assembly members said the provision would demonstrate the organization's attempt to better represent the student body.
"Let's remember that we are really a collection of representatives from other student groups," Dean Krishna '01 said.
The amendment section was tabled at two previous Assembly meetings, and faced vocal although limited opposition last night.
Athena Lentini '01, who was one of the most outspoken opponents, said that by taking away the MIAC's power to remove representatives, the Assembly is establishing the potential for members to be seated who are not serious about Assembly business.
Even with the new amendment, representative members, like all Assembly members, can still be removed by the MIAC after the first meeting.
Dave Gacioch '00, who chairs the Assembly's student life committee, said that Taylor was most concerned about the number of printouts which are never picked up by students.
The Assembly also announced its compromise with Director of Computing Services Punch Taylor and Manager of Computing Services Michael Hogan regarding printing at Kiewit's public printing clusters.
Gacioch said Taylor agreed to "turn a blind eye to the multiple print out policy" if the Assembly is able to reduce this waste.
Kiewit will give the Assembly the cover letters from these unclaimed printouts. Gacioch said he hopes to e-mail these students to remind them about the waste.
Gacioch said Taylor and Hogan were adamant about not bringing back the assistance bell at the service window, but said staffers would be told to be considerate about collating printouts and informing students of the policy.
"They said they would consider hiring a student worker to collate on a continual basis, as least during the day," Gacioch said.
The Assembly also narrowly approved a resolution to authorize spending up to $700 on a video camera for the Dartmouth Interactive Directory.
Some members, including David Parker '00 and Scott Jacobs '99, expressed concern about the choice of a video camera instead of a digital camera.
The expenditure passed with nine members voting in favor and six against. Seven members abstained from voting.
Co-chair of the Visions Committee Greg Chittim '01 said his committee has set May 10 as the date for completion of the Executive Summary which will accompany the complete collection of Visions when presented to Administration leaders.
Chittim also said the Vision statements contained in the bound copies will be anonymous, except in the copy given to President-elect James Wright. He said every Visions submitter will be blitzed asking them if they want their name included with the Visions sent to Wright.
