UA vote may have violated constitution

In a stormy emergency meeting late last night, Undergraduate Assembly members may have violated their own constitution by allowing an absent UA member to vote by proxy for the semester. In the tumultuous 90-minute session, members voted to allow Engineering junior Tobias Dengel, who is spending the semester in Czechoslovakia, to vote through another Engineering student for the semester despite by-laws which say that only full-time undergraduates may be members of the UA. According to a letter from the Registrar's Office presented at the meeting, Dengel is not a full-time student. "This is the most disgusting display of cronyism I have ever witnessed," UA Steering Committee member You-Lee Kim said after the meeting. "The UA has just voted to trash its constitution, and that's all because some members of UA steering do not even know the constitution." The UA's decision last night was based on an interpretation of the constitution by UA Chairperson Mitch Winston, who said that although the by-laws do not mention proxy votes, he has the power to give them to absent members. Winston gave his interpretation only after the assembly voted to give Dengel's vote to Engineering junior Eric Spence for the semester. The UA constitution also states that that any vacancies on the assembly will be filled by the next highest vote-getter. In cases like Dengel's, where there is no next highest vote-getter the Nominations and Elections Committee is supposed to hold a special election to fill the spot. But despite the constitution, UA members met last night to decide if Dengel would be asked to resign his position, trying to beat an NEC deadline that would put the vacancy on the freshman election ballot next month. College junior David Rose started the meeting by presenting the UA with the note from an assistant registrar saying that Dengel is not a full-time student. College sophomore Jeff Lichtman, however, said he was told by an Engineering School official that it is impossible to say if Dengel is a full-time student, but that he is in "good standing" at the University. With the two conflicting views on the floor -- one on paper, one by speech -- fierce debate ensued, ending in the "compromise" position. One UA member, College junior Alison Bieber, stormed out in the middle of the debate, and several members left angrily afterwards. At times, the meeting appeared to be more of a dispute between the members than about the issue. The problem was, many UA members did not think the assembly could decide if Dengel is a full-time member based on the conflicting administrative evidence. "Tonight the UA acted like politicians rather than leaders," Rose said. "People, because of personal involvement, confused the issue, muddled it and tabled the motion." Rose, who said he expected the issue to be open and shut when he presented the registrar letter, said he will not let the issue die. He said he plans to get more evidence from the administration that will prove that Dengel is not a full-time student and therefore is not eligible for a seat in the UA. If Rose presents irrefutable evidence at the next UA meeting in two weeks, Dengel will be removed from office and a special election will be held to fill his seat. According to NEC Chairperson Tanya Young, a special election will cost over $500 in UA money. Young, who as NEC head is responsible for monitoring the constitution, said the UA violated its by-laws and took power away from the undergraduates in the Engineering School. "I feel that tonight the UA took it upon themselves to appoint the highest vote-getter of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences instead of letting the Engineering students decide for themselves," Young said. UA Steering members said they will decide this week if the UA will pay for Spence's calls to Czechoslovakia.

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