Ware House adopts altered constitution

The residents of Ware College House adopted a new constitution late last month, according to constitution co-authors Wharton sophomore Scott Aronow and College senior Rich Cardona. It will be put into effect at the end of this academic year. "The old constitution was too structured and vague," Cardona explained. "People didn't know what they were supposed to do. You needed people who had been around when the document was implemented to get anything done." The new constitution limits membership on the House Council, the group that serves as the primary leadership body for Ware. In the past, this council consisted of all floor representatives, committee chairs and the speaker of the house. As of May, the committee chairs membership will be eliminated. "Less people on the council means that there are less people that have to do with every decision made," Aronow said. "This will also enable the committee chairs to focus more on their individual committees." Cardona said the new constitution will help freshmen who are currently "turned off by the petty politics" of the old constitution. "The new constitution is more of a handbook on how things are done," he said. Under the new constitution, the speaker of the house will also be elected by a housewide referendum as opposed to selection by the eight floor representatives. "I think it's a good idea because a larger pool of people will select the speaker of the house," College sophomore Jessica Dodson said. The document also increases accountability among the elected positions and better defines the roles of the people involved in the student government, according to Aronow. Aronow and Cardona were particularly pleased with the amount of student response that contributed to the new constitution. They explained that through electronic mail, they were able to solicit comments from the approximately 160 students who live in Ware. They then used this feedback to form a final draft which passed overwhelmingly. "No one voted against the constitution," Aronow said. "Only two people abstained and this was not a big issue." Social Work senior and Administrative Fellow Joe Sprague praised Aronow and Cardona's work. "It's a fine document showing that the students care about what happens in the house," he said. "The main goal is to improve the community and I think the proposed changes benefit the community." After spending more than 50 hours working on the new constitution, Aronow and Cardona are excited and relieved that the process is over. "I believe Rich and I worked extremely hard to make [the constitution] as good as possible," Aronow said. "We're looking forward to seeing it implemented."