3rd constitutional convention held

Student leaders discussed the need for increased visibility and better accountability in student government at yesterday's constitutional convention meeting. American Association of University Students Director Thomas Goldstein, who moderated the convention, said the meeting was intended "to take inventory to see what is happening and what is not happening with student government on this campus." Goldstein added that proposing alternate government structures now would be premature. "You don't tear down your house if 90 percent of it is sound, you just solidify the foundation and fix what's wrong," he said. Only about 15 of the 33 convention delegates attended the convention, the third such meeting this semester. Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson Duchess Harris attributed the low turnout to confusion about the location of the meeting. During the meeting, delegates broke down into small groups and addressed the issues of direct representation, accountability, funding and social planning. Several groups proposed publishing the student government budget as well as student leaders' voting and attendance records. They also suggested distributing a pamphlet explaining student government structure to incoming freshmen. Other proposals included gathering more direct feedback from students before planning campus-wide social events and holding elections through PARIS. Several of the delegates said they were pleased that the groups were able to reach a consensus on defining the shortcomings of student government. At-large delegate Dave Anderman said after the meeting that because the delegates agreed on the underlying needs of student government, concrete solutions "will begin to flow, sort of like a domino effect." "Once you get a core group of ideas about how student government should work, the rest of the structure, smaller details and other specifics will fall into place," the College senior said.

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