The General Assembly, AU's student legislature, expects to vote on an entirely new Student Confederation constitution by the first week in November.
The new document aims to make the SC more efficient and more relevant to the needs of today's student body, according to Ben Murray, chair of the GA's Committee on Government Operations.
"We are changing the government, not just the constitution," Murry said. " This will be an entirely new student government and will better serve AU students because it fits our situations now and applies to the school's current setting instead of being tailored for the AU of the 1990s." The Committee on Government Operations is charged with writing the new constitution.
The new constitution would change the size of the GA and explain the function of the SC. The SC used to be responsible for funding student clubs, but when the AU Club Council became independent of the SC two years ago, it was no longer part of the SC's function.
If the GA approves the new constitution by a two-thirds majority, it will appear on a special election referendum ballot for all students to vote on in mid-November. The student body must approve the document by a two-thirds majority vote for it to become official.
Student Activities, which advises the SC, mandated the change to the constitution last spring due to concerns that the current constitution is outdated and inefficient.
"[W]e have advised them to redraft their constitution ... because the rules which govern them today are complicated, not inclusive of all the legislation that has been passed over the last few years, and are contradictory," said Karen Gerlach, director of Student Activities. "Their documents have tied their hands and have complicated internal matters, and they, as well as Student Activities, believe that reform to clarify their purpose and structure is needed."
If approved, the GA will undergo the most radical changes. The number of representatives would be cut from 40 to 30, including five representatives from each class and ten at-large members. Currently, there are two representatives from each residence hall, three from each class, three from off-campus, and three from each school except the College of Arts and Sciences, which gets four representatives.
"The GA needs to be small, but not by much, and ... representation should not be as confusing [as it is in the current constitution]," Murray said.
Murray said that the document's chance of being approved by the GA is "good." "There will be debate, I'm sure, but we will eventually approve a document that will design a better student government."
Board of Elections Chair Marc Malon, who is in charge of organizing the special election, is concerned that the student body might not be as accepting.
"It has been my past experience that the student body can oftentimes be wary of widespread change in the constitution," Malon said. At the GA meeting on Oct. 17, he stressed that representatives should make an effort to reach out to constituents for feedback on this issue.
"Something as important as a new constitution cannot and should not be muscled through or treated lightly," Malon said. "The students at American University are smart, they will see through laziness and scare tactics."
Work on the constitution began in May 2004. Input on the structure of the new document came from students, faculty, administrators, SC executives and other members of the SC.
Rewriting the constitution also comes from the desire to distinguish the constitution from the by-laws, according to Murray.
"A constitution's purpose is to constitute, or create, an organization and its structure and to define its purpose. To clutter it with operating procedures and regulations would be inefficient," Murray said in an e-mail. "The by-laws define how the body will operate and the procedures used. The Constitution should be simple and short."
Murray said he hopes that students recognize that the new constitution is indicative of major reform within the SC.
"I have heard so many students express dissatisfaction with the current SC, and I have often been right there beside them. The stigmas and stereotypes are gone and what people need to realize is that the current SC is so different from the SC of two years ago," Murray said. "Yes, it takes time to change things, but the important thing is that the change is coming. There is so much potential for a student government in providing us, the students, what we want"
