Melodramas among the members of student government will be pushed to the back burner as a new constitution takes precedence at the end of this month.
A porn scandal and accusations of harassment have impeded recent decision-making among the members of Associated Students of ASU, though gears may change after Oct. 21 - 22, when students will be able to vote whether to approve or reject the new constitution to change the structure of the government.
If the plan is rejected, other plans may be drafted before the end of spring semester. ASASU will be dissolved if no plan is accepted by students before the end of the academic year.
A Constitutional Convention, comprised of members of ASASU and volunteer students who saw the need to change the current government, originally proposed the new plan in the spring.
"The new constitution is a hell of a lot better than the current one," said ASASU President Mike Leingang, who participated in the convention. "If they educate themselves, students will realize we are not a waste of money and we do good things."
The major changes of the constitution focus on the structure of the student government.
The current ASASU government, which operates with a $784,000 budget, consists of a president, four vice presidents and a senate. The senate is comprised of two representatives from 12 different departments on campus.
While currently the umbrella of student government represents all undergraduate and graduate programs, the new constitution would divide the student government into three sections: Undergraduate Student Government, a Graduate and Professional Student Association and the Programming and Activities Board.
Undergraduate Student Government
The structure of the Undergraduate Student Government will be similar to the current ASASU government, which is dominated by undergraduates.
The USG would consist of only two executive officers, compared to the five that currently exist.
The campus affairs vice president, activities vice president and graduate affairs vice president positions would all be eliminated, leaving only a president and an executive vice president.
"The president won't have to worry about the VPs ganging up on the president [with the new constitution]," Leingang said.
According to Leingang, the idea of only two executive officers in the new plan will allow more leeway for the president.
"It gives the president more power," he said. "Right now, I have about as much power as the rest of the VPs."
Within the current ASASU senate, the president does not have voting rights or the ability to introduce a bill to the senate, unlike the other executive officers.
The president and vice president will not have voting rights in the new plan either.
The makeup of the senate will also differ in the USG; under the new constitution, senate representation would be based on the college's enrollment.
A larger school, such as the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, can have up to four senate representatives, while a small college, such as The Herberger College of Fine Arts, might only have one representative.
"Equal representation is good, but too many senators create problems," Leingang said. "I can see the big colleges ganging up on little colleges."
College of Education Senator Abbie Duewel said she likes the idea of senate representation based on the enrollment of each program.
"It's fair because you want the senate to be representative of the student body," Duewel said. "It would help my college. With some other colleges that are smaller, it's not going to be as wonderful to them."
Duewel added that the College of Education would have at least three members in the senate under the new constitution.
While undergraduate students are trying to improve the organization of their government, graduate students are working on increasing their presence in ASASU.
Graduate and Professional Student Association
Under the new ASASU constitution, all graduate, doctorate and law students will be represented by the Graduate and Professional Student Association.
"It is a national standard for graduate students at a national university to have their own assembly," said Graduate Affairs Vice President Tim Lant.
A president and three vice presidents will make up the executive office for the GPSA, and an assembly representing 13 graduate colleges will form the graduate senate.
Lant said he expects a higher participation from graduate students under the new branch.
"Graduate students have the highest invested interest in promoting their universities," Lant said. "The programs we have are already working, the constitution is just going to be bringing out the existing structure."
As is the case with the undergraduates, graduates will be represented in senate proportionately, based on each college's enrollment size.
ASASU Graduate Senator Laurie Arnold said she hopes the USG and GPSA can maintain a good relationship between the separate governments.
"I certainly hope there is dialogue between us," she said. "We don't want to be totally separate, and we want to keep communication open between the two governments."
Members from the USG and the GPSA will work together on the third organization outlined in the constitution, the Programming and Activities Board.
Programming and Activities Board
The PAB was established as an "independent and autonomous organization" intended to organize campus activities and to address the "environmental and social issues" of ASASU.
As set out in the proposed constitution, three members of the USG and three members of the GPSA will make up the board for the PAB. Those six board members will then select a president and a vice president.
"The programming board is cool because anyone who cares about activities on campus are not shut out," Leingang said. "Hopefully, we can get good people and they will appoint more good people."
According to Leingang, the PAB eliminates the need for both the campus affairs vice president and activities vice president that currently exist in ASASU.
Current ASASU campus affairs vice president, Andrew McKenna, said he is still in favor of the constitution, despite his position being eliminated under the new government.
"I definitely want the constitution to pass," McKenna said. "It's going to be more organized. There won't be just one head person, but a number of heads."
'A very important document'
Before the new constitution is introduced to students, it has to be reviewed by school administration and signed by ASU President Michael Crow.
ASU Senior Vice President and Secretary Christine Wilkinson said although Crow approved the constitution for a vote, the constitution still has flaws that need to be fixed.
"There is still a significant amount of work to be done," Wilkinson said. "The framework is implemented, but students will want to be engaged on how it will be implemented."
Wilkinson added that students should take the new constitution and their student government seriously.
"It is up to the students to vote on whether it's appropriate and justified," she said. "Students should see this as a very important document."
Reach the reporter at andrew.bernick@asu.edu.
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