Kevin Freeman | Lariat Photographer
By Madison Miller
Reporter
Leaders of student government held a constitutional review for eight and a half hours Monday to alter, update and amend the Student Body Constitution, said Arlington senior Dominic Edwards, student body president.
“The process unfolded very systematically and I would say as democratically as possible,” Edwards said. “We began with presentations from any member of student government on their respective articles.”
There were two presentations per article, followed by a discussion, creation of new material and making edits.
The constitutional review will be submitted for the Senate to vote on Thursday.
Edwards said it was hard to say what changes were exactly made. Every article was revised because of issues or being outdated, said Katy junior Lawren Kinghorn, internal vice president. They also fixed things that have been misinterpreted for a decade.
Edwards said in light of the recent court proceedings and the culture of Student Senate this year, he felt student government needed to look at the constitution and figure out how to serve the students in a more effective and efficient way.
“The constitution gives me liberty to recommend to the Senate, measures I deem to be both necessary and expedient,” Edwards said. “For me, this is more than necessary and expedient, so I take it upon myself to be the chair of the committee and also to make sure the work got done.”
Edwards said the interpretation will be more streamlined and that the execution will be more clear with a guiding document that tells what to do instead of leaving room for interpretation.
Kinghorn said she thinks that it will help decrease controversy, but that there will always be someone upset about something.
“After that, it is put before the entire student body on Dia, whenever everyone else votes for elections,” said Houston sophomore Steven Newcomb, chief of staff to the external vice president, who is running for external vice president.
During voting, students will be given a link to the changes and will be able to vote yes or no.
Edwards said the document will allow student government to be more accessible and for them to serve the student body better after the revisions are passed.
