Senate faces constitution controversy

Calling the current PSU student government’s constitution “the kindergarten constitution,” Ethan Allen Smith and the Associated Students of Portland State University senate clashed Wednesday night over requirements to put a new constitution on the ballot at next week’s election.

Smith is a senior studying graphic design. Though not currently serving within ASPSU, he has held the positions of senator, speaker of the senate, vice president and publications director. Last year, he ran for president opposite current ASPSU President Tiffany Dollar.

At issue was whether Smith is required to collect the signatures of 3 percent of the student body to have the new constitution put on the ballot, as is the case with constitutional amendments, or 1 percent, as in the case with initiatives.

Then ASPSU’s judicial review board will count the signatures Smith collected. If the number is less than 3 percent but greater than 1 percent, the board will rule on the specific percentage needed.

Responding to Smith’s proposal, senator Phoenix Singer put forth the Dono-Phoenix Amendment, which would require new constitutions to have the signatures of three percent of the student body at least one week
before voting starts for the proposed constitution to be put on the ballot.

The amendment passed with 19 votes in favor and zero votes against, with two abstainers, meaning that the 3 percent requirement amendment will now go on the ballot.

If Smith’s constitution passes, however, it will trump any other amendments passed this election.

The senate also passed a nonbinding resolution stating that, in their opinion, a new constitution requires the same amount of signatures to pass as an amendment does (16 for, one against, five abstain).

A look at the proposed constitution

The proposed constitution would require ASPSU senators to come from the constituencies they represent and would dramatically reduce compensation for high-ranking student government positions such as student fee committee chair, ASPSU president and ASPSU vice president.

Smith said the goal of the proposed constitution is to allow student groups more direct representation in their government. According to Smith’s plan, within the senate there would be one freshman representative, one graduate student representative, one student athlete representative and one representative who is a campus resident.

In addition, there would be two representatives from each of the major schools or colleges, with the exception of the School of Extended Studies. There would also be one representative from each of the Student Activities and Leadership Program clusters.

In order to be elected, the candidate would have to prove that they qualify as a part of that constituency. For example, only a freshman could be elected to serve as the freshman class representative.

Smith believes this will result in a group of senators who will advocate more energetically for their constituency’s needs, including making sure that groups receive the funding they need.

Currently, senators are assigned to constituencies, which can be a problem, according to Smith.

“Senators are very, very seldom personally invested in their constituencies,” Smith said.

At Wednesday night’s meeting, several senators became upset by this, saying that Smith meant the senate wasn’t doing its job of representing constituencies.

Smith’s proposal would essentially revert the ASPSU constitution back to what it was two years ago, before ASPSU passed a new constitution that went into effect this year.

“The constitution that went into effect last year was a huge step backward,” Smith said.

The proposed constitution would also have a large effect on student-leader compensation. Currently, ASPSU senators are awarded $300 per term. Smith proposes that SFC members’ compensation equal that amount. An exception would be made for the SFC chair, ASPSU president and ASPSU vice president, who would be allowed no more than $600 per term.

In the budget just passed by the SFC and approved by university President Wim Wiewel, the ASPSU president is awarded $2,400 per term, the vice president $1,800 per term and the SFC chair $2,100 per term.

Opposition voiced

Marlon Holmes, ASPSU vice president, opposes Smith’s plans. Holmes is running for the SFC next year.

“This document, for me, depletes the organization and really sets it up for failure,” Holmes said. Holmes believes the combination of lowered compensation and constituency restrictions will unfairly exclude qualified students from student government.

“Seventy percent of our students are in need of aid,” he said. “So what happens when you come through with this structured system with low compensation, what kind of individuals are you going to have involved in it? Students who can’t afford to won’t be able to participate. Are we really doing the job of developing leaders of tomorrow if we have all these rules and restrictions?”

ASPSU presidential candidate Harris Foster also dislikes the proposed constitution. Foster says the constitution that went into effect this year moved away from a constituency model with a goal of increasing accountability.

“I see an accountability and organizational benefit to our current [constitution],”
Foster said. Additionally, Foster doesn’t agree with a presidential veto that was added to Smith’s constitution. “I don’t think the president should have that much power,” he said.

Dave Coburn, ASPSU’s legislative affairs director, has concerns as well. “What does this body look like when passed? Since the constitution requires representatives to step down immediately if they no longer are a member of the constituency they represent, a representative that changes majors from one college to another would have to resign,” Coburn said.

Also passed were amendments to change the term of the judicial review board (22-0-2) and to have one member of the SFC appointed by the senate (17-2-4), as well as an amendment mandating that the executive staff work with the JRB to facilitate elections and allow the JRB to recommend either a plurality or instant runoff system for voting (21 for, 0 against,
3 abstain).

The senate also voted to put the question of setting student building fees aside in order to renovate Smith Memorial Student Union on the ballot as a referendum.