SAC proposes changes to election procedures

Executive CommitteeExecutive Committeemembers also suggestedExecutive Committeemembers also suggestedchanging the policiesExecutive Committeemembers also suggestedchanging the policiesfor recognizing andExecutive Committeemembers also suggestedchanging the policiesfor recognizing andfunding new groups. The Student Activities Council Executive Committee proposed five changes to the body's constitution at its meeting Tuesday, including provisions to change election procedures and rules about SAC group representation. The body also voted overwhelmingly to maintain funding for the The Red and Blue magazine, despite a motion to decrease its allocation. Proposed constitutional changes included electing four representatives to one-year terms on the Executive Committee twice a year, at the second meeting of each semester. Currently, all committee representatives are elected at the same time. SAC Chairperson and Engineering senior Paul Wilder said this ensures the committee always includes members with at least one semester of experience. The second proposal would give the Executive Committee more flexibility in allocating funds. Under a current rule, groups that earn more than 200 percent of their SAC grant become ineligible for SAC funding. The change would allow for the revision or abolishment of the rule, Wilder said. Another proposal would require student groups to be registered with the Office of Student Life, Activities and Facilities for at least three months before seeking SAC recognition. Wilder said new groups should have to establish a presence on campus and demonstrate student support before asking for a share of SAC funds. In addition, the Executive Committee proposed to require that newly recognized and re-recognized groups have a representative at all meetings during their first year. Currently, SAC group representatives are allowed to miss one meeting each year. But Wilder said new groups should be required to attend every meeting to prove they are a strong organization. The final proposal outlines procedures for appealing denied requests for contingency funding. Wilder said it would formalize the Executive Committee's current policy of considering contingency request appeals in the order they are received. During the meeting, College senior Jeremy Kraybill of the Phi Sigma Pi co-ed honors fraternity moved to reduce funding for The Red and Blue magazine by $9,000. Kraybill made the motion because The Red and Blue currently receives more than $13,000 from SAC, while other publications get less than $4,000. The body overwhelmingly denied the motion. The Red and Blue representative Michael Bressler, an Engineering and Wharton sophomore, noted that the publication puts out eight issues each year, while other groups only publish two or three issues. According to College senior Marc Leader, The Red and Blue editor-in-chief, the publication has lost SAC recognition five times over the past 15 years, most recently in the spring of 1995. He noted that the magazine was only re-recognized by SAC last fall, and said he was amazed by the support it received from the body at Tuesday's meeting. Wilder called the motion "superfluous" and noted that The Red and Blue's efficient use of funds make it the model for allocations to other publications. At the meeting, the Dining Philosophers Computer Science and Engineering Society presented a proposal to fund a new computer server for student groups. The server would be maintained by CSE undergraduates and would allow student groups to conduct voting and polling and show video clips of performances over the Internet. Penn Players and the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Alliance successfully appealed for money from the SAC contingency fund during Tuesday's meeting.