Even students of political theory can’t find loopholes in the language of the referendum calling for change in the elections of the Undergraduate Assembly chair and vice chair for external affairs.
The proposal, released Wednesday, was co-written by College senior and Student Activities Council chairwoman Natalie Vernon and College junior and UA chairman Alec Webley with input from other student leaders.
“As someone studying political theory, it’s pretty airtight,” said Sam Adelsberg, College senior and co-chairman of the interfaith group PRISM.
The referendum would rename the chair and vice chair for external affairs the UA “president” and “vice president.” These positions would be elected directly by the student body, rather than internally by UA members, as currently is the case.
Candidates for both positions would require no previous experience on the UA. However, they would have to attend at least one information session held by the UA and the Nominations and Elections committee to be briefed the functions of the UA and the requirements of the president’s job.
This aspect of the proposal has drawn some criticism from members of the UA. Though many had not seen the exact language yet, the body had discussed the issue of the president’s eligibility at a prior meeting.
College sophomore and UA member Ariella Chivil supports the idea of having the head of the UA be directly elected by the students, but said she thought it would be “extremely irresponsible” to allow a non-UA member to run for the position.
Chivil, who was echoed by College sophomore and UA member Andrew Lum, cited the UA’s routine functions and the sense of commitment to the body as something a non-UA member might not grasp.
College junior Matt Amalfitano, the current UA vice chair for external affairs, said the point of the change was not to limit members from outside the UA from running because “dynamic” leadership may come from outside of student government.
College senior Claire Choi, UA member and co-chairwoman of the Tangible-Change Committee, expressed optimism about this aspect of the proposal.
“There are a lot of safeguards in the language that say that this position and organization are being protected,” she said.
The student body and UA members would also have the ability to impeach the president or vice president.
Under the new system, candidates for UA president would participate in a minimum of three school-wide debates, while vice presidential candidates would participate in at least one.
College senior Dennie Zastrow, a Daily Pennsylvanian columnist and chairman of Lambda Alliance, noted that the debates will “force the candidates to take a position on an issue that actually matters to [students].” One of his columns earlier this semester urged the sort of change proposed in the referendum.
The current vice chair for internal affairs would be renamed the “speaker” and would preside over UA meetings, a responsibility that currently belongs to the UA chairman. This change would allow the UA president to participate in debates during meetings rather than moderate them, College senior and UA member Zac Byer explained.
He added that drafting the language was an “incredibly collaborative” process that included a wide range of opinions from student government and non-student government groups alike.
College senior Nick Eng, co-chairman of the Civic House Associates Coalition, admitted that he is on the fence about the referendum and added that the rest of the CHAC executive board is even less supportive than he is.
“I don’t really know if the student body would know enough about the UA and what it does to vote in a competent manner,” Eng said.
On the other hand, he added, a change may give students “a reason to care.”
Adelsberg agreed. “This really has the potential to dramatically alter the way students approach student government,” he said.
For the referendum to be put to a school wide vote, those seeking reform would require 200 signatures on a petition or a two-thirds vote by the UA.
According to Byer, the petition will be circulated beginning today.
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