JEFFREY HERNAEZ
<Contributor>
As stated by Chief Justice Marshall in the famous US case Marbury v Madison, “the people have an original right to establish, for their future government, such principles as, in their opinion, shall most conduce their own happiness, [which] is the basis on which the whole American fabric has been erected.” Similarly, Student Caucus’ job is to represent the student voice on Osgoode’s Faculty Council, and its role and mandate is governed by its constitution. The principles established in Marbury are especially apparent in this context, as Student Caucus may only propose amendments to its own constitution and must obtain approval by at least two-thirds of votes cast by a minimum of thirty percent of students to ratify any such changes. As such, the student body at large has a huge role to play in setting the parameters of how Caucus functions.
Introducing myself, my name is Jeffrey Hernaez and I am the first year Student Caucus representative from Section B. This year, I am lucky enough to be chairing the Select Committee on Constitutional Reform, which has been meeting with the goal of suggesting changes to the Student Caucus constitution over the past two weeks. As any proposed changes require a super-majority for ratification, I would like to introduce you to the changes that will likely be coming your way for approval.
Quorum at Student Caucus Meetings
Currently, quorum is met when there are at least two members of the executive, one first year representative and three other members of student caucus in attendance. This means that minimally, only six out of seventeen members need to be present for a meeting to proceed. To put this into perspective, as per article V, subsection B, section 4 of the constitution, “student members voting at meetings of the Faculty Council shall take into consideration the outcome of meetings of the Student Caucus.” As such, it is of concern that Student Caucus can pass resolutions and take stances on issues with significantly less than half of its membership in attendance. As such, this committee is proposing that the definition of quorum be amended to read as follows:
i) Attendance of at least 50% of the current membership of Student Caucus;
AND
ii) The attendance of at least:
a. two (2) members composing the Executive Committee of the Student Caucus;
b. one (1) First Year Representative (this only applies after the first year representatives have been elected);
c. one (1) Second Year Representative;
d. one (1) Third Year Representative;
Note that this change would also ensure that a representative from every year be present at every meeting.
Electoral Procedures
There are two main issues regarding how Student Caucus elects its membership: the type of ballot used and how ties are resolved. Currently, the executive is elected by and from all new incoming members. Per article III, subsection B of the constitution, members of the executive shall be elected by a majority of ballots cast. In current practice, if a candidate in the first ballot does not obtain a majority, a second vote is held between the top two finishers, ensuring a majority in the final ballot. The change being proposed by this committee is that Student Caucus use a single preferential ballot. This would allow members to express their votes on just one ballot and a second round of voting would not be needed.
In an attempt to illustrate how this would work, imagine that there are four candidates running for the Chair position. Each vote would rank each candidate on the ballot, with “1” indicating their most preferred candidate. If no candidate receives more than fifty percent of the first preference votes, the candidate with the lowest member of votes would be eliminated. That candidate’s votes would then be re-distributed based on the second preferences indicated. This process would continue until one candidate has a majority of the votes cast.
Regarding tie situations, the constitution states that, “in the event that this constitutes an even number of voters the outgoing Chair shall have one vote. If the outgoing Chair is also a newly-elected member of the Student Caucus then the Chief Returning Officer has the discretion to find an equitable alternative.” Not only is the situation in which an outgoing Chair votes rare, but also, now that there are seventeen members of Student Caucus, there will be an odd number of votes until the organization’s composition is changed in the future. It is also important to note that the provision’s goal is to avoid ties by giving the outgoing Chair a vote when there is an even number of voters (as opposed to voting to break a tie after it occurs).
With this in mind, the committee agreed that giving the Chief Returning Officer discretion here is of concern. In response, the proposed change is that the outgoing Caucus Chair will receive a vote to break a tie in the case that it cannot be resolved by each candidate’s first choice votes. First year representatives are elected in the same fashion as the executive and the change to a preferential ballot is also suggested here, with the current Student Caucus Chair breaking a tie if needed.
Student Caucus Senate
Lastly, the committee looked at an intriguing body known as the Student Caucus Senate. The constitution indicates that the Student Caucus Senate’s membership is composed of former members of Student Caucus who are to be inducted after graduation, and that it is to serve as an “advisory and collegial” body with the goal of “forging links between current students and alumni.” After much discussion, the committee learned that this body has never really been utilized. The three options discussed were to remove the provisions in the constitution, leave it alone or bring it to life. The committee has decided to try to accomplish the last option by creating a database of members of the Student Caucus Senate, which would be maintained by the Communications Director. While this body may not be utilized on a day-to-day basis, having a list of former members of Student Caucus will be helpful if future members need any advice or insight in regards to issues that have affected Osgoode Students over the years.
While all of the above changes are incremental, this Select Committee on Constitutional Reform believes that they will move the method in which Student Caucus governs itself in a positive direction. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact any one of your Student Caucus representatives.
Jeffrey Hernaez is a First Year Representative on Student Caucus.