Spring Break
MSC president may become elected office
By: Joaquin Salcedo
Issue date: 3/23/04 Section: News
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A referendum will appear on this spring's student body election ballots that may determine if the Memorial Student Center president will be elected instead of appointed.
The Student Senate passed the MSC President Referendum Bill at its meeting March 10.
This decision was introduced by a record coalition of 18 senators and is the result of strong and widespread student demands that the Student Senate could no longer ignore, said Matthew Wilkins, speaker of the Student Senate.
Currently, the MSC president is selected through an interview team of eight to nine people that includes the acting MSC president, MSC director, MSC senior staff, MSC executive vice presidents, MSC committee chair and a campus representative. The president is selected at the beginning of the spring semester.
"If the majority of students vote for a democratically elected MSC president, the Senate will decide the best way to implement it (the bill)
and move forward," Wilkins said.
Once appointed, the president oversees the MSC Council and committees and acts as the primary MSC representative to students, former students, faculty and administration. The president also serves on many University committees and as of recently serves as a representative in the Tuition Policy Advisory Committee.
Elizabeth Dacus, current MSC president, said a student body campaign is an expensive and time-consuming task that comes too late in the school year to be effective for the MSC.
"It would be a disservice to the MSC and its volunteers for MSC officers to spend all of their time campaigning when they could be focused on MSC
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