Revised constitution seeks approval
The Students’ Association expects that the new constitution, which they endorsed last year, will be ratified by the student body before Jan. 2005. “We hope to have [the required] 1,200 signatures by the beginning of the next semester,” SA President and senior Pete Nabozny said.The Public Relations Committee, headed by senior Alex Brody, is leading the effort to gather signatures. The UR Pride Network, in support of a nondiscrimination clause added to the new constitution, is also leading a strong initiative to gather signatures. The new constitution streamlines the functions of government. “The student government throughout the years has a long history of failed attempts of cooperation between students and senate branches,” Nabozny said. “The old constitution doesn’t really provide [much] structure.” The old constitution’s rules got in the way as often as not. “[Committees would frequently] get in trouble for violating their own bylaws, [many of which] were written years ago when a specific incident emerged,” Nabozny said. Bylaws will be replaced by policy manuals written in a guideline format, and published on the Internet by each committee. In addition to restructuring the mechanics of government and streamlining the system, the new constitution includes a nondiscrimination clause and a student bill of rights.More details about the proposed changes are available at http://www.sa.rochester.edu. Students may sign the constitution in Room 101G of the Ruth Merrill Center across from the Common Market during business hours. New bike rack planned for Dandelion SquareA new bike rack will be installed in Dandelion Square, between Goergen Athletic Center and the bookstore. Construction of the bike rack will take place over the weekend of Oct. 22-24. Even though the construction will take place in a square in the center of River Campus, it is not expected to cause serious problems. Facilities and Services Project Manager Paul Spaulding said that there won’t be too many disruptions. “They will fence off a small area, maybe 10 feet square, to pour concrete,” Spaulding said. “It’s a very minor disruption.”The work should start Friday, and be finished by Monday, but Facilities cannot be certain about that. “Weather permitting,” Spaulding said. “As is always the case with concrete, unfortunately.”Not all students use bikes, but many felt that this was a welcome improvement. “I’d say go for it,” freshman Dan Truax said.”We need more bike racks around dorms,” freshman Zach Scott said.Reporting by Andrew Alkon, Juliette Arico and Cyrus Levesque.