A new, clearer ASB constitution took effect last month, on Feb. 24, after agreeing earlier this year that the old version was incomplete and ambiguous. ASB officers hope the revised document will prevent misunderstandings about elections procedures and give the student body a voice in school affairs.

“I think the first time we decided that there was a real problem with the constitution was last year during
elections,” said ASB vice president Anup Kar. “Things were really out of hand and people that were extremely qualified to run weren’t getting the chance because of a faulty rule in the constitution.”

Now, Kar said, the requirements for running have become more lenient. Because of the unclear rules about elections procedures, many students believed that they were not eligible to run for student body, he explained.

“We just cleared that up and made it so you can miss three unexcused meetings,” Kar said.

Additionally, Kar said that the ratification of the constitution allows all students to be able to read and understand the document.

“Anyone who is interested in reading our constitution or knowing our rules will be able to clearly understand what goes on now by reading the constitution,” Kar said.

Senior treasurer Robert Eng also said that with respect to student opinion, a new section of the constitution allowed the ASB to vote on issues and hand the official opinion to the administration.

“This is a nice, formal way for students to tell the administration what we believe in pertaining to certain schoolwide issues,” Eng said. “Previously students had no collective forum for which to communicate with the administration.”