The Cavalier daily :: Friday, December 1, 1967 :: University of Virginia Library

In voting to drop the proposed
Council constitution that would
have revamped the whole system
of legislative student government
at the University, the Student
Council may have precluded any
chance of change in the near
future.

The constitution, first hashed
out by Councilmen last semester,
then this one, finally lost out as
Council voted 15-1 on November
21 to drop it entirely and instead
consider two amendments
proposed by Rick Evans.

The amendments provide for
apportionment on Council based
on school size, and popular election
of the president of Council
after selection of nominees by
Council. The first was passed
Tuesday night, while the second
is still under consideration.

Difficult To Pass

Judging from past experience,
however, it will be far more
difficult to pass any amendments
that require two-thirds of the
student body to vote in favor of
them.

The proposed constitution had
offered a 50-man legislature with
a separate executive department,
complete popular election of the
president, and apportionment by
various methods, including by
living areas.

Back To Beginning

The constitution's history goes
back to last semester when,
while debating popular election
of the president, Jim Morgan
proposed a whole new constitution
that would include apportionment
by living areas and an
enlarged legislature.

The constitution was finally
passed by a 17-3 vote in the
year's last meeting: if it had been
endorsed by this semester's
Council, it would have had to
be ratified in upcoming elections.

Opposition

The present Council showed,
however, that the constitution
was in for rough weather if it
were to remain endorsed. From
the start of the new session, the
Council questioned provisions of
a separate executive department,
size of the legislature, and apportionment.

The size was never agreed
upon: some felt that enough
qualified candidates could not be
found to enlarge the Council,
while others felt an enlarged
Council would help counter student
apathy. Hal Lassiter moved
to cut the size to 30 members,
but his motion was tabled and
never voted on.

'Good Compromise'

In proposing his amendments,
Mr. Evans said that "We must
present something to the students
in this election, and this is a
good compromise. We can have
a legislature capable of enlarging
and a president elected by popular
vote."

Under the new amendments,
the Council will be enlarged to
24 members, with additional
representatives from Engineering
and Graduate Arts & Sciences,
and one later from the College.

Apportionment

Another of the problems in
the constitution was the apportionment.
Hal Lassiter, in opposing
the amendments, said that
"The purpose behind a new constitution
was to provide representatives
from living areas, giving
each councilman a constituency."

No one could come up with a
suitable method for apportionment
in this manner, however,
and Jim Gay, who as head of
the constitution committee was
in charge of the by-laws that
would set the method, was never
able to provide Council with a
basis. He later was the sole vote
against dropping the constitution.

Two-Thirds Needed

The third problem, a separate
legislature, was never seriously
considered this semester; it was
treated more as a facet of the
constitution that had too much
else wrong with it anyway.

Council is now faced with the
problem of any change at all:
to pass the constitution, only 50
per cent of those voting had to
approve it; to ratify the amendments,
two-thirds of the full time
student body must vote in favor
of them.

May Not Change

As a result, students may find
Council in the same form next
semester as it is now, since it
is very difficult to get two-thirds
of the student body to vote at all.

To remedy the situation in the
future, the Council has proposed
an amendment that would
make two-thirds of those voting
the only total necessary for
ratification. Such an amendment,
if passed, would greatly case the
process of amending the constitution
presently in use.

'Talk About Apathy'

Foster Witt told the Council
"We talk about apathy. We're admitting
defeat; let's get to these
amendments and get them
passed. The student body needs
these amendments to pursue our
goal of a truly effective Council;
let's get out and work to get
the necessary votes for them."

If the Student Council hopes
to provide any change in itself
this year, it appears evident that
it must show the pulling power
to get the passage now.