Proposed senate constitution released

The constitution for a proposed undergraduate student government
with a legislative branch will be released today.

UCLA is the only UC campus without a legislative branch.

The proposal and constitution are led by Brian Neesby, who is
chief of staff of the Financial Supports Commission, but not
speaking or working on behalf of the office.

Neesby, who during last year’s elections ran for a general
representative position under the Equal Access Coalition and lost,
decided to propose this change because he believes this is the only
way that the power in the Undergraduate Students Association
Council can be decentralized. EAC was a slate created last year to
run candidates in the election. Slates are coalitions of students
with similar ideologies that form to win seats on council.

The released constitution, though not finalized, outlines the
structure of the proposed government.

The constitution will be made available to student groups and
student government officials as well as some professors, and Neesby
anticipates receiving feedback from them as well as the general
student body. He said he is open to making changes to it.

The constitution calls for a 20-person senate that would hold
all the legislative powers of the government, would be elected by
the student body and would have the power to make appointments and
allocate funds.

According to the proposed constitution, the senate would be
responsible for the writing, amending and passing of all
legislation.

This legislative branch would work alongside an extended
executive branch lead by the president. The senate can override the
presidential vote by a two-thirds majority vote.

There will also be four vice president positions, including an
external vice president, internal vice president, vice president of
student and community advancement and a vice president of academic
and administrative affairs.

The latter two vice presidents would serve to connect the campus
to Westwood and the greater community and to the university
administration, respectively.

Neesby has firsthand experience with the senate system, as the
student government in the community college he attended before UCLA
featured the same system.

In order for the new senate to go into effect, it would have to
be put to a student vote.

To get an issue on the ballot, 15 percent of undergraduate
students would need to sign a petition, which equals about 3,600
students.

Neesby said he wants the student body to have a better
understanding of the platform before signature collection efforts
go on their way.

A tentative date to begin collecting signatures is set for late
next week.

The proposed senate would not replace the existing commissions
of the Undergraduate Students Association Council, and the seven
commissions would still continue to exist under slightly different
names.

In order to depoliticize the commissions, their main focus would
be on programming, and commissioners would not have voting
power.

The proposed constitution also calls for the addition of an
advisory and logistical core, which will include appointed students
as well as faculty and staff representatives, none of whom have
voting power.

In case any problems arise in regard to the constitution,
appointed officials or any other related body, a seven-member
judicial board would be responsible for making a ruling.

In order to overrule the decision of the judicial board, a
three-fourths vote of the entire senate would be required.

Neesby said that although he might graduate before the potential
changes can come into effect, he believes a structural change to
the student government is necessary.

Neesby said the main focus right now is on publicity and making
the constitution available to students.

“We want to make this as public of an issue as possible.
The more people who know, the more likely it is to pass,” he
said.

Neesby is also hoping for public debate so that information on
both sides of the issue can be made available.

This not the first time a group has proposed a structural change
in the way the student government functions. Former president David
Dahle ran for a general representative position in 2001 with the
promise of such a change. Dahle won that year and became USAC
president the following year, but the issue lost its
prominence.