To the Editor:
It seems strange that everyone in the audience who was quoted in the Alumni Governance Task Force article ("AGTF panel addresses student, alumni qualms," Sept. 21) is already involved in the anti-constitution campaign, several participating through e-mails I have received. Were there no pro-constitution people in the audience?
In the article on the ramping up of the campaign in the same issue, ("Amped campaign draws varied Alumni voices," Sept. 21) you quoted J.B. Daukas '84, as a member of the Alumni Governance Task Force who helped write the new constitution. In fairness, you should have noted that he has run in the past as a petition candidate for the board of the Association of Alumni, so he was representing the opposition, at least back then.
You also need to remind folks that the task force was formed after the 2003 version of the new constitution failed by falling just seven votes short of reaching the required three-fourths majority -- in a blizzard, so some voters imply they couldn't get there. Two people including Daukas were placed on the AGTF in an effort to include the views of the opposition. The AGTF was a smaller group than the folks who wrote the 2003 version, and the aim was to try to make the 2006 version acceptable to all.
But the constitutional revision process has been under way since the turn of the century and the 2003 version was voted on well before there were any 21st century petition candidates for trustee.
In fairness, I should note that I was chairman of the Alumni Council's communications committee in 2002-03.
