ASG President Noah Star and a small group of ASG members held a constitutional forum in the Student Organization Resource Center of Norris Tuesday in order to present their plan for electing the vice president of student activities at this spring’s Student Organization Symposium.
Instead of appointing the position and having the ASG Senate approve the candidate, student group leaders present at the symposium will be able to vote for the position.
“I think it institutionalizes more of a direct connection between student group leaders and the vice president of student activities,” said Parag Dharmavarapu, the current vice president of student activities. "I don't think it makes sense for someone to claim to be the voice of student groups without gaining their trust.”
The vice president of student activities advocates for student groups in ASG Senate meetings and creates resources to help student leaders fund and publicize their activities. Recent resources include a “money map” to help groups find different forms of funding and guides to planning events.
“When we have constitutional amendments proposed, there is a two week period when you propose and when you vote on it in order to have a forum,” said Star. “We wanted to make a drop-in thing, a little bit more informal.”
According to Star, the forum has been more presentation-based in the past, with ASG senators bringing their constituents to learn more about the amendments. McCormick senior Alex Van Atta says that the forum is beneficial, but most students who are interested in the amendment will likely have their questions answered elsewhere.
“It’s much easier to communicate electronically,” said Van Atta. “All of the student group leaders will be aware of it at the symposium too.”
Only a small number of students attended, but Star was undaunted by the low attendance. “I get why a student would not be excited about hearing about this, but we’ve gotten really good feedback about this amendment,” he said. “The groundwork has already been put in.”