The Student Government Association is in the final stages of adopting a new constitution, Attorney General Ryan Sprinkle said at Thursday’s Senate meeting.
The proposed constitution is a total revision of the current document which was written in 1996, Sprinkle said.
David Wilson, a member of the Constitution Reform Committee, said members of that committee spent hundreds of hours working on the new document.
“The new constitution will not only create a better SGA,” Wilson said, “it will create an SGA that’s better for our entire campus.”
Senator Ryan Flamerich said this is a critical moment in the history of SGA.
“The new constitution is the biggest thing the SGA has done, arguably, in the last five years,” Flamerich said.
Sprinkle said the four platforms the proposed constitution is based on are functionality, transparency, accountability and inclusivity.
These platforms, Sprinkle said, will provide for the best student self-government at the University.
The next step, Sprinkle said, will be for the rules committee to review the document. The proposed constitution will be brought back to the Senate next Thursday for a vote on ratification.
If two-thirds of the Senate pass the document, it will then be voted on by the entire student body in February and passed by majority vote.
Katie Breaseale, the SGA press secretary, said she is confident in the Senate’s ability to review the proposal.
“As we stated at the beginning of this process,” Breaseale said, “rewriting the SGA constitution has been a desperate need for many years. We are currently operating off a document that’s about 15 to 20 years old.
“This has been and continues to be an opportunity to strengthen our SGA and assure that we’re executing under proper procedures that bring maximum results to the student body.”
Nancy Hogan was appointed and sworn in to the office of senior adviser to the president at Thursday’s meeting.
SGA President James Fowler said Hogan will lead efforts in further unification of the campus.
“One of my main objectives is to advise the president on issues such as student campus diversity and how to bridge gaps between groups that are normally separated or averse on campus,” Hogan said.
A resolution was passed that will allow for the SGA to remove $300 from the executive fund to pay for Hogan’s position. She will be paid $100 each month for January, February and March.
Flamerich was the only “no” vote on this resolution, with the sole purpose of wanting to review the executive funds.
“I was not against supporting the bill to pay the senior adviser. I wanted to wait a week so we could review her salary and compare it to other executive officials,” Flamerich said.
