OUR VIEW: Special Election Called to Ratify Constitutional Changes
On Oct. 22 and 23 students, will have an opportunity to vote for revisions made to the student constitution by the ASUSU Executive Council. The revised constitution was approved and passed by a majority of the executive council and will now be taken to students for a special election. If a majority of students vote to approve the changes, the changes will take effect immediately.
The biggest change to the Constitution is regarding a change in the name of the Associated Students of Utah State University (ASUSU) to the Utah State University Student Association (USU/SA). I am personally in support of this name change and here are some reasons why:
1. Having Utah State University in the beginning of our name allows all to recognize that we are an organization affiliated with the university.
2. The term “student association” is a more clear and fitting description for the organization as opposed to “associated students” because every student holds membership within the organization.
3. Currently, the student body is referred to as ASUSU in the constitution and the student government is known as ASUSU Student Government. With the name change, the student body will be known as USU/SA and student government officials will simply be the officers within the student association. There will be no more separation.
4. There is a national and state trend with student governments moving toward the name student association.
5. It is a great opportunity to rebrand and inform students of all the services available through the student association.
There were other changes made to the constitution which are mainly grammatical and housekeeping changes. The entire revised document will be available for students to see when they vote.
This name change is supported by USU President Stan Albrecht, Vice President for Student Services James Morales, Associate Vice President for Student Services Eric Olsen and the entire staff of the Student Involvement and Leadership Center.
I encourage all students to vote because we value your input, and it’s your call at the end of the day. Voting will be available at www.vote.usu.edu on Oct. 22 and 23. Have your say and vote.
– Doug Fiefia, a business administration major, serves as the student body president at Utah State University. He can be contacted at douglas.fiefia@usu.edu.