From

From: Faber, Emily [mailto:Emily.Faber@Trinity.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 7:47 PM
To: Trinity Students
Subject: The Proposed New Constitution of ASR

First off, I know this may look like it will be a long e-mail, but if you want a reason for why you should read it, go ahead and skip to the bolded line a couple paragraphs down that reads “Why should you care about the changes in ASR’s constitution?” for an explanation. This e-mail is important enough to spend five minutes reading through it, I promise!

That being said, last week, the Association of Student Representatives (ASR) formally voted in support of presenting our proposed new constitution to you, the student body. Because our purpose is to represent you, the constitution cannot be adopted without your support. So, ASR needs YOU to come to Coates or Mabee next week , November 2^nd through the 5^th, and vote on the proposed new constitution. Support by a simple majority of the votes cast is required to ratify our constitution. The times and locations of the voting booths, which will be graciously staffed by the TU Ambassadors, are as follows:

Date	Time	Location
Monday, Nov. 2	11 a.m. - 2 p.m.	Coates
Monday, Nov. 2	5 - 7 p.m.	Mabee
Tuesday, Nov. 3	11 a.m. - 2 p.m.	Mabee
Tuesday, Nov. 3	5 - 7 p.m.	Coates
Wednesday, Nov. 4	11 a.m. - 2 p.m.	Coates
Wednesday, Nov. 4	5 - 7 p.m.	Mabee
Thursday, Nov. 5	11 a.m. - 2 p.m.	Mabee

I’ve attached the new draft of the constitution, along with ASR’s current one, to this e-mail for your review. The most significant changes you will find in the new constitution include:

1) The Student Finance Board (SFB) - which for years has been in charge of allocating to student organizations the funding accumulated through the student activity fee that each student pays at the beginning of the year - will be assimilated directly into ASR, transferring all of its responsibilities to our senators, with the ASR vice president overseeing the allocation process.

2) Also important is the creation of five new senate positions in ASR reserved solely for first years. In earlier versions of ASR, there had been hall representatives from each hall, including first year halls, that were involved with the senate as well, but years ago the hall representative aspect of ASR was erased, leaving only the senate. First years lost their main voice in ASR with this, but now, we will be making up for it by creating these new senator positions.

3) Plus, this is the first time in ASR’s 15-year existence that the Constitution will be rewritten. Up until now, it has sustained a variety of amendments, culminating in a document that, at places, was messy or incoherent. The new Constitution will be cleaner, clearer, and written with one coherent voice.

Why should you care about the changes in ASR’s constitution? There are several reasons. By taking on the SFB’s funding responsibilities, not only will the funding process for organizations be streamlined – since, before, organizations could approach both the SFB or ASR – it will also give students, through the senators that they directly vote into office, a stronger influence on the way that money is allotted to campus organizations. And, as a bonus, this responsibility will give ASR a function that goes above and beyond focusing only on student amenities on campus.

Also, an important note – because this senate was voted into office under the old constitution, if the new constitution is ratified, it will only apply fully to the next senate. But we want to involve first year senators sooner than that! Because of this, the voting ballot you will be presented with will include two items: 1) the proposed new constitution, and 2) an amendment to the original constitution that this year’s senate must still operate under that creates five first-year positions on the senate immediately.

If you want to know more or you have any questions, comments, or concerns, ASR will: 1) be holding an open forum this Thursday from 3:30-5:30 and this Friday from 1:30-3:30 in the Fiesta Room, and 2) be having a booth in Coates that you can approach this week on: Wednesday from 12-2; Thursday from 3:15-4:15; and Friday from 12-2, as well as next week on: Monday and Tuesday from 4-5; Wednesday from 1-2 and 4-5, and Thursday from 2-5. If you can’t make these times, feel free to shoot us an e-mail, visit our Facebook page (“ASR at Trinity”), or our new Web site, at http://trinityasr.com/news.php. Our purpose is to serve you!