Concerned by insufficient support for a new constitutional amendment that would create a vice president and committee of diversity affairs, Student Assembly last night postponed voting on the amendment until next week's meeting.
While no members spoke against the Assembly efforts to resolve diversity issues on campus, some viewed the amendment as excessively vague and opposed creating a new committee.
The amendment, sponsored by Jonathan Lazarow '05 and Vice President of Academic Affairs Aly Rahim '02, proposes creating a diversity affairs committee to address general social issues including race, religion, sexual orientation and socio-economic status.
According to its supporters, the new committee would tackle these issues, currently under other committee's auspices, more effectively and sufficiently than the Assembly is currently capable of doing. This would allow for more interaction with other campus groups and help bring their issues to the entire student population.
Members, though, contended over whether current committees already had the capacity to deal with diversity issues. Some also felt a committee is unnecessary and that only a vice president of diversity affairs is needed.
The vote to postpone the bill arose out of concern for the bill's success amidst the heated debate, as the required three-fourths approval for an amendment might have been out of reach.
Rahim, though, expressed his disapproval of the postponement.
"By postponing the bill, we lose another week of action where we could have done something," Rahim said.
Fellow sponsor Lazarow, however, said he expects the amendment to pass next week.
Delaying the bill may allow for more articulate revisions of the amendment's goals and a search for possible committee, two changes which many members wished to see.
Secretary Julia Hildreth '05 said she was reluctant to vote favorably because not enough outside research has been done on how groups currently invested in diversity issues on campus would react to the new committee.
All students of color speaking at the meeting, including president of the Afro-American Society Desmond Nation '02, approved of creating some type of new committee, which Rahim viewed as very encouraging.
The issue of whether to make the committee a permanent fixture in the Assembly also divided representatives. One member believed that diversity issues would eventually dissolve because of the new committee's efforts. Many members strongly refuted this and maintained that diversity issues will persist far into the future.
This amendment coincides with recent administration undertakings to promote diversity. Last year, the Committee on Institutional Diversity and Equity created a permanent office, currently headed by Ozzie Harris, who sits with President Wright's senior advisors. Lazarow believes that significant liaison with Harris' office would occur if the amendment is ratified.
The Assembly began discussing plans for a similar post after a swastika was found drawn on a Jewish student's dorm room message board on Jan. 12, Student Body President Molly Stutzman '02 said.
The Assembly also discussed the budget and logistics of the upcoming spring Ivy Council conference that will be held at Dartmouth.
