As with any healthy component of a thriving community, governments are constantly evolving. Lawmakers cycle in and out of positions, districts are redrawn, and politicians pass down new laws. In extreme cases, lobbyists and government officials haggle over, edit, and rewrite portions of — or entire — documents. That very conversation is currently happening in the Student Government Association (SGA).
Matthew Cunningham, a former SGA Senator, was present for the most recent constitution amendment process in January 2018. His predilection for policy made him a perfect candidate to begin the new constitution rewrite process. “Conversations […] began last semester,” Cunningham said. “[The SGA] seemed to understand that the structure of the Student Government was outdated and a full rehaul was necessary.”
He wasn’t wrong. The ongoing rewrite process will completely restructure the SGA from the ground up — much more comprehensive than the largely-ornamental amendments in 2018.
“Our main goal is to find a more effective structure for the SGA [to] better represent the interests of the students,” said Liam McMurtry. Currently a Senator, he took on the outline and responsibilities passed down from Cunningham. It was a rather tall order. “Current redesign efforts are based on a design I proposed to the Cabinet last semester,” said Cunningham. “It is inspired by both New Zealand’s unicameral parliament and the University of California Berkeley’s SGA.” His specific problems focused on “communication between the Senate and Cabinet. In traditional governments, […] the executive and legislative branches are supposed to work independently.” The current Stevens SGA mixes the two, muddying the waters, confusing the chain of command, and rendering meetings ineffectual.
Most importantly, Cunningham and McMurtry agree on one thing: creating positive change. “I’m hopeful that [the new constitution] will empower each Senator to pursue initiatives and make positive changes for the student body,” Cunningham reflected. McMurtry echoed his sentiments, hoping to see the new constitution allow the SGA to be more open “with regard to under-represented majors.”
The SGA’s legislation will be completely reworked in McMurtry’s plan. Current Senate districts were drawn to represent Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors. No concrete plan was ever settled on for students in the Co-op program. Citing this confusion, McMurtry triumphantly proclaimed that “one of the more radical proposals is getting rid of the class-based Senate structure and replacing it with […] Senators to represent the interests of the freshman class and four academic schools.” Additionally, the current Vice President of Operations (roughly analogous to the United States’ Vice President) will be replaced with a Chief of Staff. The Cabinet would expand by a factor of two.
The brainstorming process has not concluded. “We are still in the drafting and discussion stage,” admitted McMurtry, “but we really hope to have everything completed by the end of [October 2019].” Regarding public input, McMurtry was optimistic. “This is by no means an SGA Official-only process.”
Those interested in the rewrite are invited to attend SGA meetings, typically held at the end of the weekend in BC 122. A more reliable schedule is available on DuckLink.
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