The Cavalier daily :: Thursday, November 16, 1967 :: University of Virginia Library

Council jurisdiction and the
powers of the Legislative Council
may prove to be controversial
topics in debating the proposed
Student Council constitution in
coming weeks.

In its meeting Tuesday night,
the Council debated these issues
for an hour with little result,
failing to agree on any specific
action.

Parker Brown first brought up
the jurisdiction problem, asking
whether the Council had authority
over the Inter-Fraternity
Council.

Article III, section 2 of the
new constitution says, "The Student
Government shall have the
power to make, issue and enforce
regulations governing the
organizations and activities of
the Student Body of the University,
exclusive of the jurisdiction
of the Honor Committee
and Judiciary Committee."

Mr. Brown said that by not
including the IFC in the
exempted bodies, the Council
would have a difficult time getting
the constitution approved
by the students.

Exempted In By-laws

Frank Homer answered, "Under
the present system the
IFC is exempted in the by-laws,
and I see no reason not to continue
with that practice.

"No one has ever before attempted
to change the system.
We should not, and must not,
raise the status of the IFC to a
status it has not heretofore enjoyed."

Mr. Brown continued his contention
that the IFC is not an
organization in the usual sense,
but a governing body in its own
right.

Must Be Reorganized

Bill Moses replied that "the
IFC constitution flatly states
that a fraternity must have Student
Council recognition before
it can function at the University.
For that reason, we have kept it
under by-law jurisdiction."

Mr. Brown added that a bylaw,
which can be changed by a two-thirds vote of Council, was
not as good a protection as if
the article were incorporated in
the constitution, which can only
be changed by a three-fourths
vote of Council and student
ratification.

No motion was made at this
time, however.

Beverly Crump also questioned
the powers of the would-be
legislature.

Article IV-A, section 1 says
that "the Legislative Council
shall have the power to regulate
all student activities and organizations
at the University with
the exception of the Honor
Committee and Judiciary Committee,
through the passage of
appropriate legislation and recommendations."

Regulation Power

Mr. Crump suggested that this
power would give the Council,
which could regulate all organizations,
more power than the entire
student government, which
could only "make, issue, and enforce
regulations" governing organizations.

Mr. Homer replied that there
was no difference between the
two powers.

Escape Clause

Section 8 of article IV, which
says, "The Legislative Council
shall have all additional powers
necessary to the fulfillment and
implementation of the above mentioned
powers," was also attacked
by Mr. Crump.

In his statement, he said that
"under such a wording we are
giving the new Council far too
much power. We shouldn't be
able to regulate any organization
in any way, we wish."

'Must Have Faith'

Mr. Homer contended, however,
that "any constitution
should provide for powers that
most likely should not be used.
We have to have faith in the
quality of the people who will
run this new government and
give them enough leeway."
Again, no consensus was
reached.

As the Council was only in a
committee of the whole at the
time, all motions and recommendations
are subject to final Council
approval before the constitution
is presented for student ratification
in the December elections.

Other Business

In other official business, the
Council recommended the allocation
of $512 for the University
of Virginia Glee Club, and
$739 for the Honor Committee
to publish a pamphlet on plagiarism.