SBA Amends Constitution

By Greyson Scudder

News Editor

Included in the changes that the Student Body Association (SBA) is voting on this semester are adding amendments to the SBA Constitution, which will change the duties of some Executive Council positions if they pass. These amendments will change the presiding officer over SBA meetings from the President to the Vice President. They will also shift some of the duties of the Vice President position onto the Secretary.

“Previously all the elections were handled by the Vice President…now some of those are being handled by the Secretary,” said Max Harrigill, a Senior Biochemistry major and former SBA Vice President.

This is a significant shift, as the Secretary will now be the in charge of all of the various elections held by SBA during the year, something completely new for that position.

“That includes holding interest meetings when elections come around, as well as getting everything set up to hold elections, working with online systems that we use, and informing and enforcing some of the rules about what goes along with the election,” said Ian Taylor, current SBA Secretary.

The SBA is hopeful that this shift in responsibilities for the Vice President and Secretary will be successful, but it may not be a permanent one. “They just wanted to try it out,” said Harrigill.

While these plans are in motion within the SBA, the student body itself will get a chance to vote on whether or not they pass in the coming weeks.

Along with the changing responsibilities of Vice President and Secretary, the student body will also be voting on whether to approve the removal of several committees in 2018. This is to help focus the SBA on issues more clearly.

“We had a lot of committees last semester, and…a lot of people felt that maybe they weren’t getting a much done because there was too much going on at one time,” said Taylor.

Harrigill pointed out that all of the committees created under the SBA Constitution will still be functional, as well as two Ad hoc committees. According to the SBA Minutes from the January 23 meeting, the currents list of committees are the Appreciation Committee, Campus Beautification & Maintenance Committee, Dining Committee, Finance Committee, Research Committee, Rules Committee, Student Life Committee and Technology Committee.

“[The SBA is] trying to be more efficient and focus on specific tasks at hand,” said Harrigill.

If these changes are not approved by the student body, the SBA will simply return to its previous mode of operation said Taylor. The voting for this will take place in the upcoming SBA elections.