DSG constitutional amendments

The current Duke Student Government constitution requires that the student body be given at least seven days public notice of constitutional amendments before they appear in referendum.

On March 31, students will be asked to approve a new constitution for Duke Student Government. The current constitution dates from the early '90s and no longer reflects the best practices of our student government. The new document brings the constitution into line with current best practice by updating vice president titles, by naming the Senate, by reapportioning representative allocation, by drawing a distinction between DSG and the student body, and by establishing an independent Student Organization Finance Committee.

In order to make government more efficient and the constitution more clear, the proposed new constitution also reduces the number of mandatory cabinet members, reduces the number of ex-officio senators, clarifies the process of recess or vacancy appointments, shifts detailed in-house voting requirements from the constitution to bylaw and creates unified and consistent referendum requirements.

Throughout, the document was revised grammatically and was significantly restructured so as to more clearly draw the lines between and responsibilities among officers of DSG.

The senate approved this constitution for referendum with only two dissenting votes in late February.

The proposed constitution is available on the DSG Web site. I encourage students to read it. On March 31, I urge you to vote in favor of the new constitution. I think the reforms it contains are absolutely necessary for a better functioning DSG.

Gregory Morrison

President pro tempore, DSG senate