Students to vote on USUSA Constitution amendments

Utah State University students will vote Monday and Tuesday on changes to the USUSA Constitution that would redefine who counts as a member of the student association and, by extension, who can vote in its elections. 

Polls open at 9 a.m. Oct. 26 and close at 11:59 p.m. Oct. 27 at vote.usu.edu. USUSA President Max Alder called the special election so the vote would happen before the next regular election cycle. The amendments need a simple majority to take effect. 

The legislation, ELBR 2027-01, would replace the constitution’s opening membership statement with a definition built around tuition and student fees. 

“All students at Utah State University who are currently registered for academic credit while being issued charges of tuition and student body fees are members of the USUSA and shall be granted all rights, responsibilities, and privileges established by this Constitution,” the proposed legislation reads. 

Alder said the legislation has changed the definition of a student from those who are in a degree or certificate-seeking program to those who are charged. He said the change uses the word “charged” rather than “paid” so students with tuition waivers and payment plans are still included.  

“Essentially, this is going to be people that are tuition- and fee-paying students,” Alder said. 

The change follows questions from the February election, when Alder won the presidency over Kapp McCallister by eight votes. Petitioners later asked for a recount that excluded 113 votes cast by concurrent enrollment students, who are high school students taking college courses. The Executive Leadership Board denied the request in May, as The Utah Statesman reported. 

“We had lots of people raise concerns about some unclear language in the constitution,” Alder said. 

Under the new definition, six types of students would lose membership and voting rights, according to Alder. They include concurrent enrollment students, employees and senior citizens auditing courses, and continuing education and workforce development students.  

Undergraduate and graduate students, thesis-only graduate students, technical education students, study abroad students and employee dependents would remain members. 

USUSA Student Advocate Vice President Colin Hastings, who sponsored the legislation, said all students could still seek help from the association. 

“The student association is still here to represent all students, so even if they’re not able to vote for us, they can still come to us with any issues,” Hastings said. 

Alder said the change could be felt more at some statewide campuses, such as Tooele, where concurrent enrollment students take classes on campus for part of the day. He pointed to the constitution’s preamble, which says it is established for all students, and said officers will still representnonmembers. 

Hastings said one statewide officer worried that removing concurrent enrollment students’ voting rights could make them less likely to attend USU later. It was not a widely shared concern, Hastings said, and the legislation passed. 

The proposal includes other changes. Incoming or first-semester first-year students, graduate students and transfer students admitted in good standing could apply for appointed USUSA positions, though not elected ones. Alder said the change is aimed at campuses such as USU Eastern, where many students stay only two years. 

Another provision would let USUSA change the constitution without a student vote in limited cases: renaming a college, department or office; fixing grammar and spelling errors; or complying with state or federal law when formally advised by the Office of General Counsel. Those amendments still would need approval from USUSA governing bodies and could not change the document’s substantive meaning. 

Alder said the change would have spared officers a months-long process when the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services became the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences on July 1.  

The legislation also removes the Hearing Board’s membership and procedure sections from the constitution so they can live in the board’s bylaws. 

“It makes it easier for us to tweak over the years without needing to go to a vote by the entire student body again,” Hastings said. 

Proposals presented at September forums on live polling and proxy voting are bylaw changes, not part of this vote. Alder said election bylaws are being revised weekly and Hearing Board bylaws are in the works. 

The legislation passed the Executive Leadership Board, the Logan Executive Council and the Statewide Executive Council, which required approval from two of the three bodies by a two-thirds vote. Hastings said only one person voted no across all three. 

Alder said the process began July 1, when a consultant from the University of Texas at Austin who specializes in student governments met with USUSA officers. Drafts went through officer retreats and four forums, one in Blanding, one at USU Eastern in Price and two in Logan. 

“This is definitely, in the time that I’ve been in USUSA, the most student feedback we’ve ever had on a governing document,” Alder said. 

Both officers expect the measure to pass. 

“If I were a betting man, I would probably bet on it passing,” Hastings said. 

In addition to the previous student input, Hastings noted that students will still have final say on the changes.  

“I think it’s something that’s fair while also addressing a lot of the issues that we had students raise concerns about,” Hastings said, “Of course, students will get the chance to really have a say on this still.”   

McCallister, the runner-up in the February election who raised concerns about the process afterward, also weighed in. 

“I am grateful for the work being done to the constitution and have faith the student association will be better off for it,” McCallister said in an email statement.