By Signe K. Skinion

An Undergraduate Student Government bill calling for more student involvement in the democratic process was vetoed by the executive board because of questions about the feasibility of the legislation’s provisions, senate members say.

The bill calling for a grass roots organized weekend (GROW), a weekend designed to get voting issues out to the students, went through the USG Senate Wednesday. But the bill was voted down by the USG Executive Board on Friday because of problems executives said they found with being able to implement the bill.

Advertisement

USG President Kim Clemens said the bill is important, but it is more important to know all aspects of the bill before USG commits to it.

The bill stated that USG will have eight weeks to implement it into policy, Clemens said. That doesn’t leave any room to investigate. So, if I were to pass it, we are obligated to do it no matter what.

The bill would have attempted to increase student voting across campus in both city and student government elections.

Scott Pfeiffer, USG chief-of-staff, said there were a lot of questions the executive board had with the bill and wanted more time to make sure that it was the best way to increase students’ interest in voting.

The grass roots program costs $2,500 and restricts involvement to between 25 and 50 students, and there might be hidden costs to this program, Pfeiffer said. We also have to look to see if there are any alternatives to the program. Also, the bill doesn’t specify how it is to be paid for.

Troy Alim, USG Evergreen Terrace senator and sponsor of the GROW bill, said there should not have been any questions regarding the bill.

I spoke with the Executive Board two days before the legislation was brought to the senate, Alim said. I answered every question that they had. After the legislation passed, I talked with Kim Clemens about plans on how it would work and alternative funding where USG would not be paying for the program. They also knew that the time factor was very important.

Advertisement*

Alim said the bill needed to be passed and implemented before the upcoming student elections in the hopes of getting a better turnout and student response.

There are many vacancies on the senate right now, and that seems to support the student apathy on campus, Alim said. Last year there was only one person running for both the presidency and vice presidency, and I think it’s sad that people think there is only one person who can do these jobs. This program would help by getting students more involved with their government.

Clemens said the bill would not stop student apathy.

Truthfully, no matter what this bill is supposed to do, you’re not going to get people who don’t want to be involved to get involved, she said.

According to the By-Laws to the Constitution of USG, the senate could chose to override the veto with a two-thirds vote.