Students were granted an extra week to rethink their Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) candidate choices last Sunday when President Jay Hafler announced the elections for 2004-2005 were postponed.
BSG decided Tuesday that it will hold a referendum today in order to examine and possibly amend an article to the BSG constitution concerning the voting rights of seniors.
The executive board of BSG decided shortly before the elections to reschedule them for Tuesday, April 20, after one candidate challenged wording in the constitution and how the election process has been practiced for years.
Hafler sent an email to the candidates Sunday notifying them of the postponement and explaining that this "decision was made due to the importance of fairness and honesty to the BSG constitution and more importantly, to the entire student body. Our intention is to make decisions with the best interests of the candidates and constituents as our primary priority," he said.
The constitutional article in question concerns the election of the president, five vice presidents, and the treasurer of BSG. Article I, Section B of the Constitution defines the student body as "all students currently enrolled at Bowdoin College." Later, in addressing elections, Article II, Part 2, Sub-section "a," the Constitution says that the "president and five vice presidents shall be elected at-large by the student body."
Due to this wording, members of BSG agreed that seniors are part of the "student body." Vice President of Student Government Affairs Dan Schuberth said, "As it stands now, we have to let seniors vote."
However, in practice, seniors have never been able to participate in spring elections. Members of BSG addressed the need for a clarification and agreed that the question of whether seniors should be allowed to vote must be put to students in a referendum.
The referendum, which requires the endorsement of two-thirds of all students who vote to pass, asks, "should seniors be allowed to vote?" If students vote "yes," the constitution will stay intact and seniors will be allowed to vote. If students vote "no," the constitution will be amended to read that first years, sophomores, and juniors will be allowed to vote for executive board positions.
Constitutional procedure requires that the amendment first be voted on by the BSG and then by the student body. The amendment got the four-fifths vote of the BSG it needed, though not without some opposition. Schuberth said that several senior members of BSG opposed the amendment but voted "yes" on it to pass the important question on to the students.
"We are giving people an opportunity to have a voice on an issue that's never had an official voice before," Schuberth said.
The reasoning behind the exclusion of seniors in the spring elections is that the representatives for next year will not represent this year's seniors. While some students agree with the policy, others see an advantage to seniors voting. "Seniors have been here for four years," said Jason Hafler '04. "They know what people can and cannot do."
First-year Erin Furey agreed with Hafler. "Seniors should be allowed to vote because they have so much knowledge and experience. A lot of seniors don't just leave Bowdoin, they come back and continue to contribute."
Today, all students, including seniors, will be able to vote online at the BSG website as to whether or not seniors should be allowed to vote for executive board positions.
According to members in BSG, should the elections have proceeded without addressing the wording of the constitution, candidate victories could have been called into question and perhaps recalled.