Associated Student Government works to revamp constitution
Nate Hipple
Issue date: 3/31/09 Section: News
On March 12, ASG Senator Christopher Conyers and Phi Theta Kappa President Christopher T. Ginn, held a meeting to discuss the revision of the current ASG constitution--called the CG Bill.
The acronym 'CG' stands for Conyers and Ginn, the student-leaders who want the ASG constitution to emulate the American Constitution's system of checks and balances and establish executive power for the ASG president.
On March 19, the CG Bill was approved by student government with a 4 - 2 vote. In two weeks, the bill goes before the Board of Directors to be determine whether or not it will appear on the student ballot April 14.
Ginn, a graduating senior, said he hopes the CG bill will help the next generation of student-leaders.
The current ASG constitution, last updated in 2004, does not satisfy Ginn's or Conyer's vision of how student government ought to operate.
Conyers and Ginn pointed to a lack of participation as the main issue.
"It's hard to get people to come out and represent their clubs," said Ginn, during the March 12 meeting.
"Sometimes we can't even get a quorum," added Conyers.
Without a quorum, ASG members are unable to vote and, in Conyer's opinion, this presents a wall for ASG's progress.
Ginn said he would like to see more representatives from student organizations increase their attendance at ASG meetings.
The CG Bill establishes minimum attendance requirements and suggests reprimands for student-leaders who fail to meet the minimums.
"We've tried many different ways to get the current ASG group to get involved in setting us up for the future, yet most of them are concerned with their own priorities such as the upcoming election," Conyers wrote in an e-mail.
The bill was peer-reviewed by several members of student government and has been thrice revised so far.
"We've discussed what's not working with the current constitution and came up with the [CG] Bill," said Conyers.
"In my eyes," he said. "This is a victory for the student body."
The acronym 'CG' stands for Conyers and Ginn, the student-leaders who want the ASG constitution to emulate the American Constitution's system of checks and balances and establish executive power for the ASG president.
On March 19, the CG Bill was approved by student government with a 4 - 2 vote. In two weeks, the bill goes before the Board of Directors to be determine whether or not it will appear on the student ballot April 14.
Ginn, a graduating senior, said he hopes the CG bill will help the next generation of student-leaders.
The current ASG constitution, last updated in 2004, does not satisfy Ginn's or Conyer's vision of how student government ought to operate.
Conyers and Ginn pointed to a lack of participation as the main issue.
"It's hard to get people to come out and represent their clubs," said Ginn, during the March 12 meeting.
"Sometimes we can't even get a quorum," added Conyers.
Without a quorum, ASG members are unable to vote and, in Conyer's opinion, this presents a wall for ASG's progress.
Ginn said he would like to see more representatives from student organizations increase their attendance at ASG meetings.
The CG Bill establishes minimum attendance requirements and suggests reprimands for student-leaders who fail to meet the minimums.
"We've tried many different ways to get the current ASG group to get involved in setting us up for the future, yet most of them are concerned with their own priorities such as the upcoming election," Conyers wrote in an e-mail.
The bill was peer-reviewed by several members of student government and has been thrice revised so far.
"We've discussed what's not working with the current constitution and came up with the [CG] Bill," said Conyers.
"In my eyes," he said. "This is a victory for the student body."
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