On December 14, Student Government Association (SGA) President E.J. Hannah announced in an email to all undergraduate students that the SGA Constitution has been rewritten and needs 2/3 approval from the undergraduate student body. An SGA restructure has been discussed for several years but was never pursued seriously until now. Following cabinet member resignations in early October, and the elections of new cabinet members thereafter, the concept of a total restructure was brought forward again, with a number of senators pursuing it this time. The Constitution rewrite is just one part of the restructuring efforts that will enable the rest of the process to happen smoothly.
The initial concerns about the current SGA system stemmed from the effectiveness of student representation. Senators are elected by class year, but there has been debate as to whether or not this is preferable to a different system, such as representation on the basis of identity, department, experience, or some other factor. Other problems such as the amount of power given to Cabinet members and the amount of work that falls on the shoulders of only a few students were also primary reasons for pursuing the restructure and rewriting the Constitution.
The new Constitution consists of seven articles and several sections. Section 1.2 “Code of Ethics” is a new addition that outlines ethical standards for SGA officials and an outlined code of conduct. Hannah explained to The Stute that “After being a member of the SGA for two and a half years, I personally feel the addition of a Code of Ethics is the most necessary change. The SGA has long needed a way to hold their officials to higher ethical standards, given that we are elected to represent our constituents. This addition makes it more clear what exactly it means to be an official of the SGA and ensure greater protections for all members of the Stevens community.” According to Hannah, the rewrite was a collaborative effort primarily spearheaded by himself and other students, including Gabriella Poska, Mathieu Nagle, Kevin Gmelin, and Angelina Rabbia.
Gmelin explained that in the old Constitution, there is “a major disconnect between the cabinet and the senate. This disconnect results in no one really knowing what’s going on, it becomes more difficult to work on things, we become less effective, many ambitious senators get burnt out, and the student body ends up not really knowing what SGA does.”
After the Code of Ethics, the Constitution then goes on to outline the “Three-Pillar Model” that was discussed in past restructuring meetings. The three pillars are known as the Student Advocacy Pillar, the Organization Affairs Pillar, and the Administrative Pillar, and were created “as an approach to decentralizing power,” as noted in Hannah’s email.
The Student Advocacy Pillar will include six different committees, each led by directors who will be elected by the undergraduate student body. These six committees are Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Campus and Student Life; Health & Wellness; Government & Community Relations; Public Relations; and Academic Affairs. These committees mirror current SGA committees, such as the Diversity and Inclusion Committee and the Campus Wellness Committee. The Senate is also under the Student Advocacy Pillar and is facing changes as well. Currently, senators are composed of students from each class year, but under the new Constitution, “the seats of the Senate shall be divided proportionally by student enrollment in each School and College at Stevens, with a number of Senator-at-Large seats based upon total undergraduate enrollment as well. These seats shall be filled with officials elected by the Student Body each Fall,” outlined in Hannah’s email.
The Organization Affairs Pillar handles finances and student organizations and will be responsible for dispersing the Student Activity Fee to club budgets. There will be a Committee on Club Affairs that will consist of subcommittee heads, mirroring the current Committee on Student Interests (CSI).
The Administrative Pillar will oversee operations on a general level and handle elections and impeachments. It will consist of a Speaker of the Senate, Parliamentarian, and Secretary, who will all be elected by the Senate.
The new Constitution will inevitably increase the amount of times where a vote from the student body is needed. Noting this change, current SGA Secretary Gabriella Poska explained that “In the past, we had just the President and VPO elected by the student body as a pair. In adding the amount of positions voted on by the student body, we are getting student body input yearly regarding all aspects of the SGA (finance, student orgs, campus wellness, diversity, and more). We hope that this not only encourages more people to vote for these positions, since they very directly impact each individual student, but also that more students would be encouraged to run for these positions.”
There will additionally be an Executive Council, consisting of the six Student Advocacy Directors, the Director of Finance, the Director of Club Affairs, and the Speaker of the Senate, who will appoint a Chief of Staff. The role of the Chief of Staff will be to handle issues that “do not fall directly under the responsibilities of a specific director,” according to Hannah’s email. This means that there is no SGA President under the new Constitution, and SGA Cabinet positions are being eradicated.
Mathieu Nagle, a participant in the rewriting of the Constitution, explained why he feels the restructure is necessary. He said, “It’s no secret to anyone that there are issues with the SGA and there have been for years. No change in presidents, senators, or school administration has been able to fix it … The SGA in its current form is not working for itself or for the students. I’m not going to pretend that this new constitution is perfect or that it will solve all of the problems the SGA has had or issues that students have with the SGA. There are bound to be growing pains and there will likely need to be small changes made to the new constitution in the coming semesters. This is a step towards building a more accessible and equitable student government.” He also expressed his views as to why now is “the perfect time to find out more about the SGA and get involved.” The new Constitution is only the first step, and according to Nagle there will be meetings over the winter recess to further discuss changes to the bylaws and other governing documents.
Some students have reacted negatively to the new Constitution. After Hannah’s email to undergraduate students, an Instagram account was started called “Save Stevens,” which is currently an anonymous account focused on encouraging students to vote no on the Constitution. The organizer(s) of this account expressed to The Stute over Instagram DMs that they wished to remain anonymous out of fear of being “harassed by student government leaders.” They additionally commented that “one specific criticism is that we think the student government put its own priorities (a new constitution) over its constitutional mandate (presidential elections are required). We need new student leaders, not a new constitution.” As of December 17, the Instagram account has only amassed 15 followers and is following 45 accounts of Stevens students; it is unclear if this account will reach a large audience or influence student opinions enough to sway votes for the new Constitution.
Hannah expressed to The Stute that he reached out to the Instagram account and “talked through many of the concerns they had; a lot of it stemmed from misunderstanding … I wouldn’t feel comfortable with students who don’t understand what is changing to blindly vote yes. It’s important for the people voting to be engaged and understand the impacts of the changes the restructure committee is proposing. They aren’t small changes, and the initiatives the SGA pursues for the student body aren’t small either. If you are confused and want to learn more, you can always reach out to someone in the SGA on our Instagram or by emailing sga@stevens.edu.”
Voting will be open until January 15, 2021. In order for the new Constitution to go into effect, there needs to be a 2/3 approval from the undergraduate student body; according to Stevens, the Fall 2020 undergraduate student population is 3,791. This means that approval from approximately 2,527 students is needed. (Correction: According to the current Constitution, there needs to be a 2/3 approval from 1/3 of the undergraduate student body. Approximately 845 students need to give approval with at least 1,264 students voting.) Students can vote through the Google form here, and view the new Constitution here.
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