Tuesday, April 21, 1942
DAILY NEBRASKAN
5
Council Reports Majority and Minority
Opinions on Amendment to Constitution
The majority report, sustaining!
tJie motion of the Student Council
by which it is recorded as oppos
ing the proposes amendment to the
Student Council constitution.
The majority contentions in op
posing the amendment follow:
I. The abandonment of the hold
over system.
One of the more important ele
ments in the continued success of
the Student Council as a govern
ing body is a continuity of action.
Holdover members of the Council
were Instituted as the only effi
cient method of assvring such
continuity; the council, and the
faculty advisors who aided in
forming the present system agree
ing on that point. The commit
tee system of government will not
permit such a complete change in
the personnel of the Council as
would inevitably ensue; if not an
nually, at least periodically.
The institution of a merit sys
tem such as has been begun, would
invalidate, in some degree, the
complaint that the holdover sys
tem insures the majority party
of a continued majority, and fur
ther, it is evident that only by
sheer coincidence could a party
maintain a majority of this
method if the opposing party can
gain, and keep, a majority in the
Council two years in succession.
II. Semj-annual elections.
This again is opposed upon the
grounds that it will destroy con
tinity. The Council, in the past,
has over and over again demon
strated that a student governing
body, under the best conditions,
with interested members, will take
approximately three months to at
tain full efficiency. Replacement
of one-half of the members each
semester would result in a general
confusion which eliminates the
benefit of much of the work done
the previous semester.
III. Destruction of a workable
system.
The present system of student
elections has served in good stead
for ten years. It is the result of
a good deal of rewriting and re
vision by former Councils, and
by the faculty. Many conflicting
reports have been received as to
the efficiency of the proposed
amendment. We have it on good
authority that it can be and has
been at Michigan manipulated,
without any particular difficulty.
It was used for one year at
Kansas State, and discarded as
not worth the trouble. It is not,
as its proponents contend, simple
in operation, but on the contrary
is quite complicated. Whether or
not it is too complicated to be used
effectively cannot be decided until
it is tried, but it seems unneces
sary to throw out a usable system
to try another which is so little
known, and about which so much
unfavorable comment has been
made.
Political Issues Involved.
Undoubtedly all improvements in
government are the result of po
litical activity of some sort. How
ever, it little behooves any one in
terested in student government, to
uphold those who, as a mere stalk
ing horse for their political cam
paign, attempt to institute a major
change in our form of government,
a cringe the classification of
which aa an improvement is so
questionable. The proponents of
this scheme should remember that
what amounted to a . two party
system existed on this campus
prior to the recent realignment of
political interests, and the Coun
cil managed to conduct its affairs
with a certain degree of success,
and justice to those members who
were Interested and able. Even
from an objective viewpoint, the
membiTS of the Student Council
who were also members of the
party backing this amendment
have not distinguished themselves
in diligence, ability, nor interest In
Council affairs. There has not, as
yet, been any indication that the
party mentioned has the backing
necessary to warrant their speak
ing of themselves as representa
tion of even a large minority of
those whom they purport to repre
sent. It has been evident that this
plan was instigated, and has been
publicized completely through the
efforts of one man, and we ques
tion whether this man, or any
other has the right to expect to
accomplish an upheaval in gov
ernmental form through sheer
power of lung and pen, rather than
through pojnilar support.
Especially is this true since
once before this amendment was
placed before the student body,
and at that time was so badly de
feated that we have not felt it
really merited our attention again.
Minority Report
It is unfortunate perhaps that
both support and opposition to the
Student Council Constitution are
so clearly drawn along party lines,
as is shown by the majority and
minority vote at the last Student
Council meeting. It was nbt pro
posed as a party issue; in fact, it
was first suggested by Darrell
Randall, a graduate student in
economics, who had seen the Hare
system in operation before he
came to Nebraska. It was worked
out in collaboration with Professor
Aylesworth of the political science
department, and last spring the
proposal was presented to the Stu
dent Council as a non-partisan
measure.
Since then it has been endorsed
by the Barb party. On the other
hand, it has been condemned by
the Union party, by the Greek ma
jority of the Student Council, and
by two Greek editors of the Daily
Nebraskan.
RECOGNIZE UNFAIRNESS.
There are very practical rea
sons for this party division. Under
the present system, as is illus
trated in the chart below, the
party in power (the greek in this
instance) can continue to dom
inate the council by election of
only three of the twenty-two can
didates at each election, while the
out-party (the barbs) can gain a
majority of one" on the council
only if they elect twenty-one of
the twenty-two candidates. This
is true because the eight holdover
members are always chosen from
the party in power. This year the
council is greek. The eight hold
over members chosen are greeks.
And this situation is but a repe
tition of last year's. Naturally,
greek leaders because they know
they can continue to dominate the
council year after year by electing
only three of the twenty-two
candidates in each election, op
pose the amendment. And the
barbs, realizing the unfairness of
this system are asking that it be
changed.
There is a further explanation
of the majority vote of the coun
cil. Eight of the present members
of the council owe their seats for
another year because of this sys
tem. It may be noted that
Preston Hayes, the author of the
majority report, has already been
chosen at a Union faction meet
ing as next year's presidentVof
the Student Council. And what
the Union party dictates the
greek members do. It may also
be noted that constitutionally the
vote 'of the council is not called
for. Amendments are adopted by
the vote of the student body - not
the council. The action was
merely a political scheme to give
adverse publicity to the proposal.
Before we discuss the argu
ments for the amendment let us
see how both systems work under
the present system. (1) Eighteen
college representatives and four
seniors-at-large arc elected at the
Student Council election. In case
a party does not gain its quota of
council memberc, it is given one
member for every 125 votes at
polls. Eight holdover members
are also elected from the mem
bers of the outgoing council to
serve for another term. As we ex
plained, holdover members are
chosen from the party with the
majority on the council. Thus the
council consists of between thirty
and forty-five members, depend
ing on the number elected by the
list system of proportional repre
sentation. Comparison Made.
Under the Hare system, as
proposed, representation is given
according to uartv strength at the
polls. Thre are twenty members
elected, ten at each semester elec
tion-eight from the city campus,
two from the ag campus. In order
to make comparisons we shall
consider that the twenty are
elected at the same election.
Here is how the two systems
work in practice;
OLD KWSTKM
nrifk Rnrh
Votc runt lf00 2,')0
CamlliWtM
nlKl'IMl 0 22
Sim In flllrd y
lint ivtitiim 12 0
Hnldovrm 8 0 $ 12
Post. majority.
Greek Brb Creek Barb
1500 2(K0 1500 2000
3 19 9:1500 :: 11:2000
8 1 9 11
8 0
20 19 Proportional Barb
Greek majority. majority.
Greek Barb Greek Barb
1500 1500 1500 1 500
11 11
1 I 10:1500: :10:1500
8 0
" 10 10
20 12
Holdovers make Equal votinK power:
Greek majority ol equal represent a-
eipht. Hon.
Greek Barb Greek Barb
1500 1003 1500 1000
13 9
0 0 12:1500: :8:1000
8 0
21 9 12 8
Bfirba get 40 nf
vote but only 30 Proportionate Greek
ot representation. majority.
We have discussed so far only
the reasons for party division on
the amendment. It should be rec
ognized, however, that the argu
ments presented by the framers
of the amendment are not those
which have brought on the party
division. Here are the most im
portant benefits of the proposal.
1. Fair representation of all
groups according to their voting
strength is provided through the
Hare system of proportional
representation. Article IV. Sec.
5.
2. Elections are simplified
NKW SYSTEM
Greek Barb
1500 iiliOO
t:1500::12:25'Ki
and artificial restrictions as to
class, college and sex are re
moved. Article IV. Sec. 3.
3. Membership is cut to
twenty thus making a more ac
tive council. Article IV. Sec. 3.
4. The College of 'Agricul
ture is given a fairer representa
tion on the Council. Article IV.
Sec 1.
5. Holdover members on
the council are eliminated. Ar
ticle IV. Sec. 1.
6. All committees including
the judiciary are made re
sponsible t the Student Council
and all committees and boards
appointed by the Council shall
represent all parties proportion
ally. Article V. Sec. 3.
7. Rules for election can be
changed by the petition of a ma
jority of the students. Article
IX, Sec. 2.
The Hare system of proportional
representation provides actual
representation for all groups ac
cording to their voting strength.
It is simple in operation, yet hard
to manipulate. It does not limit
representation to parties. In fact,
no matter how division lines are
drawn the system is flexible
enough to handle the situation
with fairness to all groups or in
dividuals. The Hare .system is
used in municipal elections of
New York City, and Cincinnati,
Ohio, and by the English universi
ties in electing members to par
liament. It has also proved suc
cessful in many U. S. universities
including Minnesota and New
Mexico.
To Unify Campuses.
The proposed amendment recog
nizes that the Student Council is
an all student organization de
liberating upon matters of com
mon interest only. As the Stu
dent Council constitutional itself
states (Article III. Sec. 1), the
council is "To regulate and co
ordinate the activities of all stu-
dent organizations and groups
whenever such activities are of
general university interest. Lines
of class, college and sex become
unimportant when viewed in this
larger whole.
The proposal on the other hand,
does recognize that the University
of Nebraska is composed of two
campuses a city campus and an
agricultural campus. To unify
adequately the two separate pro
grams and functions on these cam
puses, the plan would give ag
college one member to evry four
from the city. (Under the present
system they receive only one to
every eleven, which is less than
(See REPORT, page 7)
Total mbrs. 20 22
Barn majority of 2 If
Burba win every
Proportional
Barb
f .niiu.i.mi.iiini. u m mmmmmmmmmmmmm iiiwii i i nmwimni mi
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