According to an e-mail sent by Vassar Student Association President Mathew Leonard ’11 at 9:05 p.m., the amendments to the VSA Constitution passed by a vote of 521 to 270. The proposed amendments, proposed Articles VII and IX create the position of VSA Senators and add a Residential Council to the VSA governing structure.
30.53 percent of the student body voted on the referendum, and while the vote ratifies the amendments the story of these revisions isn’t over yet. Leonard noted that a member of the Class of 2013 has filed a complaint against the referendum with the Judicial Board. The student claims, “The VSA Board of Elections’ decision to require a simple majority of participating voters and not a majority of all members of the VSA is a violation of the VSA Constitution.“
The Judicial Board will convene on Monday, April 11 to discuss the complaint. The time of the meeting will be announced and will be open to students, though the final decision will be closed to public.
Because of the complaint, filing for spring elections will be postponed until Tuesday, April 12.
The full text of Leonard’s email is below:
This past few weeks a large campus discussion has emerged regarding the recent proposed constitutional changes to the VSA Governing Documents. The specific vote dealt with proposed Articles VII–VSA Senators and IX–Residence Council. The results of this referendum are binding to the VSA.
The results of the referendum is as follows.As at Poll close: Saturday 09 April 2011 16:00 EST
Number of voters: 791 · Group size: 2591 · Percentage voted: 30.53
Ranked by votes
1 Yes 521 65.87 2 No 270 34.13 Please note that a member of the Class of 2013 has filed a complaint with the Judicial Board against the referendum vote.Please find the charge listed below:The VSA Board of Elections’ decision to require a simple majority of participating voters and not a majority of all members of the VSA is a violation of the VSA Constitution.This will require a hearing that must convene per Article IX Section 3 of the Constitution. The hearing requires 4 members of the Judicial Board as well as their non voting Constitutional Advisor. (per subsections A and E respectively). The hearing will be convened on Monday and will be open to the entire campus. Time and location to be announced. The deliberations for the final outcome, however, will take place behind closed doors.
Thus the start of filing for the Spring VSA elections will be postponed till Tuesday April 12th 2011.If you have questions or concerns please feel free to email me of any member of the VSA Exec board.Thank you,Mat
