New A.S. Constitution

While we applaud A.S.’s efforts to restructure the organization’s constitution, and we support many of the suggested changes, the document contains a fatal flaw. If approved, it would decrease the threshold for passing A.S. initiatives on the ballot from two-thirds of voters to a measly 50 percent plus one. Under campuswide elections, initiatives require the support of about 3,000 student petition signatures before they are placed on the ballot, but they only need approval from 50 percent of voters plus one to pass. Currently, initiatives that are placed on the ballot by A.S. need the approval of two-thirds of voters, but require no petition. Lowering the threshold necessary for an A.S. initiative to pass would remove all incentive for groups to actually talk to their constituents. Any document that claims to make A.S. serve students more efficiently, but at the same time erodes the organization’s system of checks and balances, is not a document we can support.