New bylaws proposed to IUSA Congress

Changes to the IU Student Association’s bylaws to be voted on by Congress today would mandate a more frequently and accurately updated IUSA Web site.

The new bylaws were created by Congressman and junior Daniel Herman and other members of the Student Rights Committee. The new bylaws, which also include revised definitions of leadership positions, are an update of the most recent version written in 2006, Herman said.

Herman said IUSA will aim for greater transparency by regulating the flow of information on its Web site. He added that frequent updates would be required, but information would be run through the Student Rights and Rules Committees to ensure that nothing is made public prematurely.

IUSA’s Media and Technology department would be responsible for maintaining the Web site and checking its accuracy. Herman said by making this explicit in the bylaws, writers hope to make information more accessible to students.

“It’s not really serving the student body well to have an incomplete Web site,” Herman said.

Another major change involved revising appendices from the 2006 version. Herman said one important change was revising an appendix outlining Congress’s summer charter. The older version required members to meet during the summer months, but Herman said this rule has not been followed for some time.

Finance committee members could represent any constituency, a change from the previous bylaws which stipulated that only student senators, who represent residence halls, could staff the Finance Committee, Herman said.

Changes were also made to the titles of director positions and definition of Congressional parliamentarian and grammarian. Historian was added as a mandatory position as well, Herman said.

Current IUSA Historian and junior John Gillard said in an e-mail that he was responsible for pointing out the outdated nature of the current bylaws and identifying key problems in the previous documents.

Gillard and Herman have also been involved with looking at the function of IUSA’s Funding Board. Herman said the appendix related to the Funding Board will not be solidified until board issues are solved.

Vice President for Congress and senior Shobha Pai said revisions to rules regarding Congress’s internal structure are extremely important, especially to members of Congress.

Pai said it’s also important for students outside of congress to understand congressional procedure in order to know how to reach out to their representatives.

“Especially from term to term, it really helps people to have a good grasp of what to expect in Congress,”  Pai said.