AU College Democrats refused to endorse the Student Government constitutional reform in a statement released on Jan. 23.
While the organization wants to see SG reformed to something similar to the proposed Student Association, it does not support how the proposal was created or its content, according to AU Dems President Kathryn Tinker. However, AU Dems will not campaign against the reform.
The group’s executive board decided to release the statement about not supporting the reform referendum after SG Comptroller Joe Ste.Marie approached the organization for an endorsement, according to Tinker.
“We realized that we had an obligation not only to the Student Government representative who approached us, but also to our members to say what we [AU Dems] really felt about the referendum,” Tinker said.
SG and “AU for SA,” the group of students encouraging their peers to pass the referendum, declined to comment on the statement.
Changing SG to the Student Association will be paid for by students through student fees and tuition, and the four SG vice presidents will hold on to their positions automatically without reelection, according to AU Dems’ statement.
Students in AU Dems believe these decisions should have been discussed more publicly, according to Tinker.
“When Student Government wants to do a real reform, it’s not enough to say you have an open [vote] application online,” Tinker said. “You need to actively seek out and engage campus leaders, organizations and any student who is interested in the subject to try to create a campus debate.”
AU Dems Executive Director Alex Hoffman filed paperwork with the Board of Elections Jan. 22 to start his own campaign against the reform referendum, according to Tinker.
“I just think that it’s better that they [Student Government] wait until next year and make this a more public thing versus something they did in private behind closed doors,” Hoffman said. “It’s not fair to the students, it’s not fair to the other senators and frankly, it’s not fair to the University.”
kschneck@theeagleonline.com
