Come Feb. 18 any Auburn student who has ever wanted more of a say in what goes on at Auburn will finally have their chance.
The Student Government Association has written amendments to the Auburn University constitution, and the final decision of whether it passes is up to the students.
Sarah Molony, the SGA vice president, said the proposed updates to the constitution will benefit both SGA and the student body.
"The updates will be beneficial because not only will it give more students an opportunity to be involved in SGA, but it will bring more accountability for the SGA and all of the Student Activity Projects," Molony said.
SGA President Jacob Watkins said the constitutional updates will reconfigure the judicial branch of SGA so students may voice their opinions in an easier fashion, thereby making the members of the branch more accountable for their actions.
Molony said some parts of the University Code of Law will receive an update because the practices named in the code are out of date. The update to the
code of law is necessary with the update to the constitution so the two more work together smoothly, Molony said.
The proposed changes to the constitution will also affect how candidates are elected to SGA.
"Right now the president is the only member of SGA that has to receive 40 percent of the student population's vote to get elected," said SGA advisor Corey Edwards. "We said, 'why don't the other officers need 40 percent?'"
Watkins said the other proposed changes are not as significant as the update to the judicial branch and the new election process.
"There are some small naming issues," Watkins said. "Some things have changed; some of the issues are just small housekeeping things."
One of the other proposed changes is a raise in academic standards for SGA senators.
Currently, a senator must maintain a 2.0 grade point av- erage. Under the new constitu- tion, a senator will be required to have a grade point average of 2.5 or better.
Molony said she hopes the constitutional changes pass the student vote.
"I definitely hope that they do because I think our SGA has
a great presence on Auburn's campus and does a lot for the students, and I know if we rework the judicial branch to have more of a presence, it will benefit the SGA and in turn, all Auburn students," Molony said.
In order for the changes to pass, 25 percent of the student body must vote on them and 75 percent of that vote must be in favor.
Edwards said he does not think there will be a problem getting students to vote.
"Typically, we have one of the highest voter turnouts in the nation," Edwards said. "For a large campus the turnout is typically 12-13 percent. Here it is 31 percent."
Despite Auburn's high level of voter turnout, Watkins said he wanted to stress how important it is for students to review the constitutional changes.
"It's really important that they go out and vote," Watkins said. "Don't just vote for the officers, vote on the whole thing."
Students may vote for SGA officers and the changes to the constitution Feb. 18. Voting may be done through AU Access or on campus at polling stations.
The proposed constitutional changes will be printed in The Auburn Plainsman Feb. 4 and available online.
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