Student Government passed sweeping and historic revisions to its Constitution Wednesday night, paving the way for graduate students to have much greater representation in the organization.
The legislation passed with more than 90 percent of the vote, much more than the two-thirds needed for any constitutional change. Should the student body support the revisions in a special referendum vote in the fall, the changes will go into effect in March 2011.
鈥淭his is huge,鈥� Graduate Student Association President Alan Tauber said. 鈥淚t validates our place as full students of the university, and it allows us to productively work towards the solution of graduate student issues.鈥�
The bill creates a bicameral student government, with two separate branches dealing with issues pertaining to undergraduate and graduate students, respectively. Both branches have their own vice presidents and treasurers. The student body president can be either a graduate or undergraduate student.
The changes to the constitution have been in the works since December 2008. Then GSA President Reed Curtis scheduled a meeting with Sen. Ben Bullock and then-Student Body Vice President Meredith Ross with a long list of grievances and saying the organization would like to completely split from SG.
鈥淢eredith and I looked at him and couldn鈥檛 find a single grievance that wasn鈥檛 justified,鈥� Bullock said. 鈥淎nd we said to Reed, give us time to address this issue and find a solution to this problem. And he let us, and this is the solution we have.鈥�
Bullock, Sen. Matt Ungar and Tauber gave impassioned speeches on the Senate floor, begging senators to vote for the legislation. They were all quick to admit the bill isn鈥檛 perfect. But after a year of committee meetings and compromises, they said this represents the best solution for all parties involved. Most seemed to agree.
鈥淥n the whole, this bill will best represent all the students in the university,鈥� Sen. Michael Chisholm said.
No one spoke against the bill during a period of debate, and only Ungar, Sen. Chad Devlin and Sen. Ray Curbelo voted against the bill. After the vote, Devlin and Bullock exchanged terse words in the back of the chamber.
鈥淵our resume looks good now,鈥� Devlin said.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 do this for my resume,鈥� Bullock shot back.
鈥淚 bet,鈥� Devlin said with a smirk.
鈥淚f I did this for my resume, I wouldn鈥檛 have worked so hard on it,鈥� Bullock retorted before walking away.
Tauber, one of the biggest champions for the legislation, gave four fist pumps in the back of the room when the bill passed. He鈥檒l give up his term in May and likely won鈥檛 be in Columbia this fall.
鈥淚t鈥檚 bittersweet I won鈥檛 be here,鈥� Tauber said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 sweeter than if it wouldn鈥檛 have passed at all.鈥�
