by Alec Williams
The associated student government (ASG) of CMU approved a contested amendment that would adjust some formatting, syntax and logistical aspects of the ASG constitution at their recent meeting Wednesday night.
The bill, ASG amendment one, was passed by a majority of senators, 18 voting “yes,” with two senators voting “no.” The bill was the first in more planned legislation by ASG President Josh Dillinger and Vice President Ben Linzey.
The bill also removed some articles in the constitution that outlined the government in a specific way that was deemed unnecessary in the document.
Though the amendment was passed by the ASG senators, the changes will have to be approved by 10 percent of the student body. Dillinger and Linzey plan to have the ballot on Orgsync’s website Monday night for students to vote on. If passed by the students, the changes would not take effect until the next academic year.
The amendment was submitted by senators Tracy Langford, Elizabeth Bierbaum, Cody Armstrong and Madeline Hoffman after making changes to Dillinger’s original proposition. The meeting Wednesday night was used by senators to argue for and against certain aspects of the changes. Sen. Jacob Reimer, who opposed some of the decisions and propositions by Dillinger and Linzey, “filibustered” against some of the amendments.
Some of the reasonings Reimer made- such as making sure the senate leader position remained outlined in the constitution- were passed by senators who agreed with his points. Reimer also wanted to keep the article referring to standing committees, which are in charge of oversight of internal and external ASG issues, inside the document, but the motion failed.
“I think that those need to be standing committees in our ASG constitution […] because there’s never going to be a time in which we are not going to need to be an internal or an external or a leadership committee,” Reimer said following the meeting.
The information concerning the committees is planned to be moved to the bylaws of ASG, a governing document that is not as difficult to change as the constitution.
Reimer further explained he is concerned future ASG members will have difficulty understanding how the institution is meant to function after this change.
Dillinger has publicly outlined plans to make cuts to the pay of some executive staff members, which would not take effect until next academic year. This amendment, though it does not include those cuts, is considered a stepping stone towards them.
Reimer has in the past argued against those decisions, and at Wednesday night’s meeting, student Georgia McClellan spoke before the senators advocating against the pay cuts as well.
“I mean, yes, everyone wants to see budget cuts, and everyone wants to see ASG have all the money,” McClellan said. “And we want to give every organization money, but that’s not how this works, and that’s a bummer. But, I think pulling from your own organization and weakening it, I guess in some points, is not the right way to go about creating a stronger ASG.”
McClellan went on to say that she believes Dillinger is “overstepping some of his bounds” as president, an opinion that used to be shared by some senators who were planning on impeaching him.
“I think that the money that we’re cutting from this,” Sen. Elizabeth Bierbaum said to McClellan. “And giving back to the pool of other organizations could also help them expand and grow and give some leadership opportunities there.”
Bierbaum went on to suggest that McClellan should visit Dillinger and other senators on the issue to hear the pros and cons of the pay cuts.
“It’s fairly historical when you look through changes to the constitution, they’re fairly rare and they’re fairly small. So, this is one of the largest overhauls,” Dillinger said after the meeting.
