President Claire Lew’s term came to an end Wednesday night, as she officially handed ASG reins to Austin Young before Senate. Her presence will continue to be felt on campus for a while, though, as the debate on Senate restructuring appears primed to persist for the better part of spring quarter.
- After discussing the three official proposals for reorganization for over two hours, senators decided to reject all the current plans and instead opted to extend the conversation on any initiatives that would drastically change student representation at Northwestern.
Though many senators came in expecting to vote among the proposals brought forth by Lew, Ani Ajith and Aaron Zelikovich, respectively, the debate is now set to continue indefinitely. Next week, ASG will vote on legislation forming a task force that would draft a new proposal incorporating elements of all three current proposals.
The restructuring debate started last winter, when Lew suggested a student government composed of 20 senators appointed through campus-wide elections. Ajith’s plan called for a decrease in size of student caucuses, while Zelikovich’s centered on increased accountability of absent senators.
- The executive board and Senate unanimously approved emergency legislation to use ASG resources to promote awareness of the situation of Medill alumnus James Foley, who has been detained in Libya for over two weeks by forces loyal to Moammar Gaddafi.
The bill, written by Ajith, calls on ASG to actively direct members of the Northwestern community to a site dedicated to securing his release.
- Lew’s plan to make Deering Field available to student groups for reservation has made progress, with Lew calling her suggestions “well-received.”
Talks about instituting a formal process of reserving the space are underway. She said it would only be available to student groups with an event that adequately “reaches out to the entire Northwestern community.” Also, student groups that host events would be at least partly responsible for resulting field maintenance costs.