A revision before the Undergraduate Council of Students that would allow a simple majority, rather than a two-thirds majority, to pass resolutions and approve student group categorizations will go to a general body vote next week.
UCS Campus Life Chair Ben Farber '12, who proposed the change at Wednesday's meeting, said the two-thirds policy "makes no sense," especially considering that all other Ivy League student governments use the simple majority to pass resolutions.
The code change would reserve the two-thirds voting procedure for "actions that are less customary," such as amending the UCS Constitution or removing a member, Farber said, adding that other schools keep the two-thirds vote for similar cases.
Though Farber said he is "hopeful that it will pass," the proposal faced some dissent at the meeting.
UCS Vice President Diane Mokoro '11 said "resolutions are the most important things that we have."
"They come around when something is super-duper important, and something that's super-duper important shouldn't be passed by a five-and-three vote," Mokoro added.
"It might be helpful in terms of efficiency, but it also might diminish the importance of when we pass something," said UCS Student Activities Chair Brady Wyrtzen '11.
Another concern for members was whether UCS's open membership policy made the voting body less qualified to represent the undergraduate population than other schools' student governments. Farber said he is investigating other Ivy League student governments to see how they select members.
Last year, when Farber first brought up the proposal, it was rejected by "a very close vote," he said, adding, "it's something that I feel passionately about."
Approving resolutions and student group categorizations by a simple majority "will make us a more legitimate representation of the student body in that it will enable us in controversial situations to take a stand and to make a statement," he said.
"If the U.S. Senate can pass something with a simple majority vote, then UCS should also be able to," Farber added.
During the meeting, the Undergraduate Finance Board also presented a revision updating the Appeals Board positions and procedures, which was approved.
"We were just going through the code and realized that this information was really out of date," said UFB-UCS Liaison Salsabil Ahmed '11.
The Appeals Board — consisting of representatives from various student groups — is a review committee to which students dissatisfied with UFB decisions can turn. The Appeals Board hasn't been active for about two years, so UFB had to replace seats previously reserved for members of groups that are now defunct in order to "have a full-functioning appeals board," said Wyrtzen, who is also a UFB representative.
The seats that had been occupied by the former Student Activities Board and Student Union will go to members of the University Resources Committee and the Brown University Activities Council.
UFB Chair Jose Vasconez '10, who explained the resolution to UCS, told The Herald that now "the appeals process is going to actually serve the interests of the student body."
In addition, the amendment allows students not involved in Appeals Board decisions to sit in on trials.
"We just didn't see any point in closing them off," Vasconez said. "It's not like anything we do is secret."
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