SAC body adopts new constitution

In a decisive vote of 102 to seven, with six abstentions, the Student Activities Council passed a proposal last night drastically changing its constitution and streamlining the organization. The proposal eliminates the SAC Steering and Finance committees in favor of a nine-member Executive Committee, one of which is the Undergraduate Assembly treasurer, according to College senior and SAC Steering Chairperson Graham Robinson. The new committee will consist solely of officers in SAC-recognized groups and will combine the tasks of the current Steering and Finance committees, which include making funding recommendations and applying emergency powers. But the members will not have a vote on motions before the SAC general assembly. The constitution converts many Finance guidelines, which factor into the amount of a group's allocation, into optional suggestions. According to Robinson, this section of the proposal was intended to give the Executive Committee leeway based on extenuating circumstances. The new constitution will also encourage outside fund raising by SAC groups by allowing groups to retain these funds more easily. Also under the new constitution, Connaissance -- an organization which brings speakers to campus and which has the largest SAC budget -- will be placed under the auspices of the Social Planning and Events Committee. The only part of the proposed constitution that was not passed was a section requiring that SAC representatives be either the president of vice president of their group. Instead, the body adopted an amendment recommending such a practice but not mandating it. The proposal, which was compiled by SAC Steering last semester and presented to the the body at last month's meeting, was passed along with several other amendments. One of these additional amendments states that no member of the Executive Committee may also hold the position of SAC representative, eliminating the possibility that a member of the committee could obtain a vote as a representative. Another amendment requiring the Executive Committee to publicize its actions on behalf of the body in between SAC body meetings was also passed. The Finance Committee, which has been opposed to the reforms, formulated its own statement, consisting of a monologue by Chairperson David Shapiro, a College and Wharton junior. "I come not to bury Graham Robinson but to praise him," Shapiro explained. "I realized that this plan is an actuality a vote of confidence in the Finance Committee. It strengthens the committee under a new name -- the Executive Committee. As mandated by the new constitution, the status quo will be maintained until the February SAC meeting, when the new Executive Committee will be elected and the rest of the new constitution will take effect.

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