The A.S. Council and the Graduate Student Association have approved the majority of a set of Joint Associated Student Council and Graduate Student Association special elections bylaws, submitted by the University Centers Expansion Task Force for the expansion fee referendum of $39 per quarter. The two councils have also appointed A.S. Commissioner of Programming Gabe Grossman to be the elections manager during the special elections, which will take place during seventh week.
Approval of the entire set of bylaws will be contingent upon a special emergency GSA meeting on April 25.
The special elections bylaws will be used to reference the way the elections will be run. They also state that the jurisdiction for the special elections is under both the A.S. Council and GSA.
Throughout the special elections, the bylaws act as guidelines indicating the duties of the elections manager and the elections committee. They also specify the mechanics of the elections, guidelines for official polling places and campaigning.
The GSA council approved the bylaws by a vote of 17-1-5 this past Monday after passing two amendments.
One change specified that the bylaws should only be applied to this academic year. The second change, which stipulated that students could add a referendum to the ballot with a petition of 10 percent of the undergraduate and graduate student populations, has recently been called into question by members of the A.S. and GSA Councils.
“”It seemed like a good idea at the time, objections have since been raised that have given us great pause as to the possibilities,”” said GSA Vice President of Finance Lee Lovejoy.
Some GSA Council members are also now considering the ramifications of being locked into a strongly A.S.-supported referendum even if only a minority of graduate students vote for it. To address issues regarding the clause, the GSA Council has called an emergency meeting to take place April 25.
During the April 23 A.S. Council meeting, councilmembers discussed whether to include the clause in the joint bylaws and the specific percentage of petitioning undergraduates and graduates required to place a referendum on the ballot. However, the A.S. Council amended the bylaws to allow the wording of the clause to be determined by the GSA Council.
Some councilmembers disagreed with this vote.
“”I feel like we should have given a suggestion and if [GSA] says no, then it would be just both be no, but not that they could put whatever wording they want,”” said Warren Sophomore Senator Kirsten Bowen. “”I think that it takes away from the undergraduate voice.””
As special elections manager, Grossman’s duties include having full authority over the election and making sure that the duties of the Special Elections Committee are completed.
“”I’ll make sure that it is a fair election and that student voice is heard,”” Grossman said.
With the special elections manager appointed, Special Elections Committee membership will soon be considered. The committee will consist of one representative from each of the colleges, one A.S. representative appointed by the vice president internal and approved by the council, and two GSA representatives.
The University Centers Advisory Board has also approved the request for $10,000 toward the information campaign to be launched by the UCETF.
UCAB’s monetary support will help the UCETF with its information campaign. The money will be used to give students more information regarding the function of the expansion fee.
Other information will include what will be built in the Price Center and the renovations for the Student Center. Campaigning will also include displaying various types of advertisements encouraging students to vote.
“”The money will solely be used to publicize the special elections in a neutral manner, advertising the dates and locations of voting, as well as the wording of the referendum itself,”” said UCETF chair Garo Bournoutian. “”Most advertising will be identical of how the A.S. advertises its general elections.””
The UCETF, which includes representatives from the six colleges and has recently extended its membership to include representatives from campus organizations such as the Student Affirmative Action Committee and the Student Initiated Outreach and Recruitment Commission, will now focus on an information campaign.
The UCTEF’s aim is to remain neutral while encouraging students to vote for the referendum.
“”We’re going to go into outreach now,”” Bournoutian said. “”For example, I’m trying to talk to S.O.L.O. right now to try and get more input from the S.O.L.O. organizations.””
