Council to consider 25 new constitutional amendments
Wednesday evening, members of The King’s Council will consider more than two dozen new amendments to the Council’s Constitution on a variety of subjects. Many of the amendments address conditions for leadership, clarification about various responsibilities or suggestions about words and phrases to add or cut from the Constitution. Wednesday’s meeting, said Fileta, will be the most important meeting of the year. The meeting will take place at 5:30 in the Founders Room, and is open to the student body.
The most important motion proposes adding a new position—Director of Spiritual Life—to the Cabinet. Student Body President, Maxine Fileta ('15) said this person’s job will be to serve as a liaison between the Spiritual Life Committee and the King’s Council. The idea, she added, is to streamline communication between the spiritual life representatives of each House, improve the management of various administrative tasks and support the mission of the King’s Cabinet.
Currently, House Presidents are responsible for voicing the concerns of their House’s spiritual life representative. The new position would relieve House presidents of that task and give the Spiritual Life Committee its own voice on the Cabinet.
Vice President of Student Development, Eric Bennett, praised the idea. “I love it, I’m a fan of it, I want it,” he said.
One amendment suggests prohibiting Cabinet members from holding leadership positions in other student organizations. Fileta (‘15) explained that the idea behind the change was to “mirror the House leadership model.” She admitted there might be some pushback.
Director of Student Events, Stefanie Gardner (‘15) backed the idea. “The new requirements show that leadership is serious,” she said. “They show that certain expectations must be met to serve the student body well.”
Fileta and members of a Constitution Revision Committee have been working on the the amendments since last April. Fileta said her goal, in adding these amendments, is to improve the way information passes from each Council to the next. Looking back on the past year, she explained how she and other Cabinet members had little to no understanding of how or why certain rules were in the Constitution. “This is attempting to make the foundation firmer for Councils to come,” she said.
If the amendments pass the Council by a three-fourths vote, they will come before the student body for a vote. They will pass if approved by more than fifty percent of the student body. This is the first time the Constitution has been amended since 2010.