Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
This year StuCo both amended its constitution and found trouble filling some of its key seats. The new positions of Co-President and Outreach Coordinator were created, but the unexpected resignations of both a Co-President and the Campus Life Representative, as well as the unfilled Secretary seat, mean StuCo must have emergency elections before the semester gets rolling.
At the end of the fall 2011 semester, Swarthmore College Student Council amended its constitution. Students voted for two Co-Presidents, instead of a President and a Vice President.
“It became clear that in practice the positions of Vice President and President were of equal import. The titles reflect the fact that both positions require the same amount of work and effort. In fact, the description of Vice President was the same as that of the President but included the added responsibility of really knowing the Constitution. So it made sense to make the positions on equal footing in terms of title,” said Gabriella Capone ’14, the previous Appointments Chair and current Co-President.
The second constitutional change was the replacement of the position of Students Events Advisor with that of Outreach Coordinator, now held by Ian Anderson ’13.
“We found that the duties of the Student Events Advisor were poorly defined and had also been hearing a lot of feedback that StuCo needs to improve the way it communicates to the student body. We had a presence in social media, for instance, but could be doing a lot more in that realm if there was a position that specifically dealt with that,” said Capone.
William Lawrence ’13, the current Appointments Chair, was not involved in the amendments, but said, “It’s nice to have someone to focus on our facebook, twitter, and designing a new website. It’s already been very helpful.”
Student Council is still functioning, despite missing three members, and on February sixth through ninth students will have an opportunity to vote for the new and open positions.
