are they taking leads from Mike Bloomberg?

This is a completely undemocratic move by the CAS Council, and if it is ratified, I say we vote out the entire council in the next election, so they can have their lame duck president.

I honestly can’t say I expected much better from elected student officers at NYU. It truly astounding that although we attend a relatively “enlightened” school with such an intelligent and active student body we still have been so unable to find honestly and sincerity in our student government. These actions are being carried out without any discretion by the board, as thought done with complete confidence that no one would notice or care. I can say that I hold my student body in high regard; its quite clear that the current student council board has little regard for the integrity of its reputation. These moves by the board are a direct subversion of the self determination of the CAS student body. Honestly Stu-Co has never done much for me as a student, but when we are taking about a budget as hearty as theirs we are obligated to be relentlessly critical,

First we’re subjected to TBNYU, a radical group of individuals demonstrating on behalf of our diverse student body, embarrassing a great majority of us in the process.

Now, we have the Student Council, a soon to be radical group of individuals making decisions on behalf of our diverse student body, most likely embarrassing a great majority of us in the process.

I defended the avenues that exist at our school for voicing our needs and opinions when TBNYU barricaded themselves in Kimmel. Going over our heads, without a referendum, without even the common courtesy of an email notifying us that our student government is now an oligarchy, this move is going to cause more of an outrage than was anticipated.

Just to quell the whole problem before it starts, although it already seems to. Since the constitution has not been ratified by the Student Body, though those amendments will be put forward for ratification in this general election, the requirement for three semesters for president and two semesters for Treasurer will not stand for this election.

I like the bold assertion that they’re making in that leadership experience on CAS Student Council is the only type of leadership that counts. Never mind all the people who are RAs, serve on IRHC, or take leadership positions in clubs or fraternities. No you are only qualified if you show up to CAS Student Council weekly meetings.

By doing this the Council will be further insulating itself from the wants of the student body. You won’t encourage participation by putting rules in place that limit ones ability to get involved. I can tell you I am much less likely to participate if my voice, and the roll I can take is immediately discounted because of when I choose to get involved.

To me this just seems like a blatant power grab by current members of the Council who will be there next year, and are fearful that if legitimate competition comes along they would lose their job almost instantly.

I guess we all thought that the government had changed since the Meredith Dolgin Pumpkingate two years ago, but since this is pretty much the same cast of characters this shouldn’t be that big of a surprise.

Unless you get a lot of students to actually vote in this election, let alone vote against the amendment, this will probably stand and be ratified.

I can’t believe that CAS Student Council would try to do this. While it may have spawned from good intentions, this amendment is a blatant attest to the lack of judgement shown by our current elected representatives. In theory, requiring President and Treasurer to have student council experience seems like a good idea, but as others have stated, how much experience does a candidate get by just attending a few meetings? Instead, this amendment disallows all sophomores and above from being able to ever serve as president of student government and removes the democratic process from the student council.

They’re all just still bitter because no one cared about their Coke ban.

If I actually cared, I might just barricade myself in Kimmel.

This also essentially means that if you ever want to hold one of these positions, you have to be single-minded and power hungry as all hell the day you get to this school. I don’t know about other people, but I didn’t get involved in any clubs or really care about being active until my junior year, and I think that’s a perfectly normal experience for college students but an experience that the current student council is trying to prevent others from having. What if you just don’t care enough to go to student council meetings until the end of your sophomore year when something really big happens that convinces you of the need to get involved?

I’d like to take the time to squash assumptions and set the record straight:

First off, ANYONE can run for President, Treasurer, or any other position on Council for next year. It was only assumed that our intention was to implement changes that would impact the upcoming election (because it was also incorrectly assumed that Council is looking to underhandedly exclude potential candidates). Not the case.

As stated in our 2000 constitution, the last official constitution voted on by the CAS Student Body, the amendment process is as follows:

1. Propose amendments
2. Have the General Assembly vote on proposed amendments (once voted, these proposed amendments become official, but temporary)
3. Have the constitution ratified by the CAS Student Body during the next General Elections (if ratified, the temporary amendments become officially permanent).

Given that there is this interim period that requires Council to operate as if the proposed constitution is the standing guideline for Council, technically the requirements do stand. However, Council is not looking to unfairly restrict people from running for certain positions. As such, prior to the hype around this issue, the Elections Committee had planned to make a provision stating that all amendments that affect this election will be suspended until next year – if ratified by the Student Body, that is.

However, Council does hope that the student body will choose to ratify these amendments in question. Why? Because leadership experience alone does not mean that you are qualified to be the President of just any organization. For example, although my experience as CAS Student Council President would seemingly meet any qualifications to lead, say, the College Democrats or the IRHC, in all honesty, what do I know about the inner-workings of either club? How do they organize their meetings? What issues have they been working toward this past year? What steps need to be taken to push forward future initiatives or events? Heard that NYU has red tape galore? Then you can imagine the hoops there are to jump through when advocating for a student body as large and diverse as CAS. Council’s hope when passing this proposed amendment was that potential candidates take each position’s expectations and responsibilities seriously. In doing so, they would realize that humility and selflessness are needed to admit that prior Council knowledge is essential to do justice to these positions (and in turn the Council and student body).

And again, please note that all but two positions on Council are open to anyone, and that this is not subject to change with these amendments – Vice President, Student Advocacy Chair, Curriculum Chair, etc… all these positions have the same level of power and influence as the President. The only difference is that they do not have the extra burden of managing and being held accountable for the whole organization.

I hope this post clears everything up. If not, please feel free to email me with any other questions or comments: megan.cruz@nyu.edu.

I must say that I am so happy that Alex Li, Christopher Phillips, Constantino Rago , John Thatcher , Henry Chan , Ryan Hoffman , Chris Kennedy , and Pat McClellan are so passionate about this topic that they will now join CAS Student Council. Nothing makes government run better than active participation by its citizenry and as more of you join the better Student Council in every school will be. I look forward for the aforementioned names to run for the plethora of other positions that are not affected by the proposed amendments. Once again, I cannot wait to see all of CAS in next years Student Council because it seems that it takes a “scandal” to get people interested. Besides it is not like CAS Student Council holds numerous events on campus or take their time to order cinnamon buns and hand them out for free to anyone in Silver. I say how dare of Student Council to care so much and amend their constitution to better suit their needs.

Edgar Nunez
Apr 6, 2009 13:50
“…I say how dare of Student Council to care so much and amend their constitution to better suit their needs.”

We know that the student council cares enough to fulfill their needs.(pumpkins, travel, embezzlement of student cash) But what about those of the CAS student body. With amendments to the constitution such as the aforementioned, it is quite difficult to give the benefit of doubt.

@ Edgar: Snark aside, you raise some important points. I don’t think anyone doubts that the CAS Student Council commits a lot of time and energy into providing cool events and budgeting money to clubs. But your final line says it all, “I say how dare of Student Council to care so much and amend their constitution to better suit their needs.” Read that again. “…to better suit THEIR needs.” There’s the problem. It’s not their needs they’re supposed to be looking out for.

[...] The following was submitted as a response to CAS Student Council Votes to Block Nearly All of CAS From Running For Office. [...]

@Megan, I like how you use the word “squash”. Usually, I only use it when talking about squashing rebellions but that’s just me.

First of all, this is not a “scandal”. There’s no dishonesty or hidden information going on here. The CAS Student Council and Generally Assembly went about their decision making in a very democratic and just way, all of this was out in the open. So kids, let’s not call this something it’s not; it’s a disagreement, not a scandal. And it’s completely fine to disagree with policies. The U.S. government passes laws that people disagree with all the time, but let’s do it in a mature and respectful way, not by attacking the CAS Student Council.
And perhaps you don’t like the new amendment, but it makes sense. There are restrictions to all positions of power for good reason. If a new freshman got elected as the President and made some rookie mistakes because they were new to NYU and didn’t know the ins and outs, you’d all be just as unhappy, probably even more so. The Student Council is just trying to make sure that someone responsible and knowledgeable is around to listen to and work for the student body.
There’s a lot more to being a president or vice-president than just having good leadership qualities. You need the knowledge of the organization you’re leading! Someone who hasn’t been involved in the student body won’t have that knowledge and thus, will either make mistakes or rely on other members of the Council to carry him or her, which is clearly not the job of the President. We, as NYU students, deserve someone responsible, experienced and well informed to lead us, and the Student Council is just trying to make sure we get that.

Ryan Hoffman
“I can’t believe that CAS Student Council would try to do this.”

First, I would like to question how genuine the persons responding to this article are to the betterment of the College. As Edgar Nunez said, I think it would be beneficial not only to CAS but to the individuals who feel directly influenced by these possible changes to appear in the student council meetings and voice their opinions freely. After all, there are no requirements to actually BE in SC and I would encourage everyone to come join. That said, I wonder how happy the general CAS pubic would be if a 2nd year transfer student, a junior, or even a senior with no experience in student council let alone any leadership position in an NYU club/organization ran for a position like President or Treasurer and won. Does that sound at all plausible for “ensuring the preservation and continuing success of the Council for the foreseeable future?” Although we all appreciate the interest and passion people have exhibited for this topic, it would be so much more beneficial if said persons participate in the actual proposition process. Don’t forget, President and Treasurer are NOT the only positions available to the council members and the student body in general; there are 16 titled positions! Please, please come join the CAS Student Council and be a part of the change you would like to see!

As a first-year member of the CAS Student Council, I’d just like to reiterate the fact that Student Council’s intent behind these amendments had nothing to do with excluding student participation or any sort of “blatant power grab,” in the words of John Thatcher. I’d like to point out that the vast majority of the council and general assembly consists of new members like myself, and I’ve found over the past two semesters that new ideas and perspectives are wholeheartedly embraced, not to mention the fact that new members have the opportunity to run in their first semester for a variety of other comparably influential elected positions. That said, concern over these new requirements is certainly understandable, but a leader with a solid foundation of experience and dedication to SC is immeasurably important in determining the success of student government as it moves forward. The new requirements are simply a means to ensure that the council can continue to serve the student body to the best of its ability and without the disruption of an unprepared leader.

@ Selina, Mahalet, and Kaitlyn: Although you approach it in different ways, you all make the same argument – that the Student Council President needs to have experience and proof of dedication to the Council. But you’re totally missing the point. While these are worthy things that would certain qualify a candidate to run for President, they are not necessary conditions for effective governing. If the CAS student body decides they value experience and dedication to the council, then those people will be elected. But if the voters decide they want a talented transfer student to run the Council, that’s their choice to make.

The problem is that the Council is self-determining what they think is best for the voting bloc. Selina, when you write, “We, as NYU students, deserve someone responsible, experienced and well informed to lead us, and the Student Council is just trying to make sure we get that,” you fail to realize that the Student Council shouldn’t be deciding what we, as voters, need.

Think about this kind of provision being added at any other level of government. Wouldn’t you be outraged if the US Congress passed a bill requiring candidates for the Senate to have served in city government first? Because, of course, the only way for Senators to do a good job is if they have city government experience.

For further analysis, read my response to Megan’s comment here:

http://nyulocal.com/on-campus/2009/04/06/cas-student-council-president-megan-cruz-responds-to-amendment-criticism/

@ Edgar Nunez

lol, ok I better not see you complaining if the Senate and House of Representatives holds a Constitutional Convention to amend the Constitution to say you can’t run for President unless you’ve been a Senator for two terms already.

I’m sure your whole Student Body Government is SOOOO complex that I couldn’t possibly understand all your intricate rules and procedures without an entire year of practice…

No one needs to say more. Just tell your friends about this and to not vote for any incumbents in the election.

/thread

“The problem is that the Council is self-determining what they think is best for the voting bloc.”

Quoted for truth.

Edgar, I believe the saying is, “You can’t complain unless you vote,” not, “You can’t complain unless you run.”

As someone with no interest in holding elected office myself, I am wholly against the statute being put forth by the student council, which inherently discriminates against those, like Pat, who decide to become involved later in their academic life. I am also adverse to the notion that my only venue of dissent should be my own run for council.

As they are (I assume) your constituents, shouldn’t you be listening to their concerns instead of mocking them?

[...] fishy is going on over in that CAS Student Council. But you already knew that. [...]

[...] over thirty comments, last week CAS Student Council President Megan Cruz contacted WSN about the CAS constitution controversy. WSN Editor, Rachel Holiday Smith, who spoke to Local about a policy clarification, explains: [She] [...]

[...] over thirty comments, last week CAS Student Council President Megan Cruz approached WSN about the CAS constitution controversy. WSN Editor, Rachel Holiday Smith, who spoke to Local about a policy clarification, explains: [She] [...]

Student government is for power-craved losers. Why is any of this a surprise?

@Megan Cruz – Ew to you. Just like President Dolgin, your BS doesn’t even stand up to reason. “Technically the temporary amendments stand…” Then so they do. It’s not that they don’t on some technicality you dreamed up – if it’s *technically* from a technical document from a constitution, then that’s what it means. Like…can you even be serious? Are you not doing this to get into law school (if not, why else?)? If so, please don’t embarrass yourself by feigning ignorance about how these things work.

Student government types are all the same. I never thought I’d be saying that Jenny Shen’s crusade against Dolgin seems like it was the right thing to do, but you guys really have some chutzpah. I have never been involved with any student government at NYU that 1) made sense and 2) didn’t just “vote” in its incumbents or best friends through procedural techniques so that you could abuse the petty power of having access to a closet in Kimmel or Silver. Like, really? You should have just done what you people always do and not put it on paper. That would have been *more* honest – where is the PRIDE?

Nick Mester’s right: But at least you guys could have enough dignity and take yourselves seriously enough to be less obvious with your petty power-grabs.

[...] you can vote on the controversial amendments to their constitution, including a requirement for three semesters of council experience in order to run for president (and two for [...]

[...] is more interesting is that the CAS Constitutional Amendments, the ones NYULocal featured for restricting who can run for President and Treasurer in the future, passed. Without the vote totals, [...]

[...] http://nyulocal.com/tag/wtf-is-happening-with-nyuad/http://nyulocal.com/on-campus/2009/04/06/cas-student-council-votes-to-block-nearly-all-of-cas-from-r…http://nyulocal.com/tag/tbnyu-kimmel-takeover/ [...]