The Goizueta Business School's BBA Council has made amendments to its constitution that aim to address ambiguities in its legislation and executive appointment procedures.
In light of recent conflicts with Emory College's Student Government Association (SGA), members of the Council hope that the changes will address concerns about election transparency. The amendments passed in December last semester.
With regards to voting, the amendment now requires that SGA representatives of the BBA Council be elected instead of appointed. Elections will be online in conjunction with SGA elections. The amendment also eliminated positions and voting procedures that council members deemed unnecessary.
Members of the Council hope that the amendment will reduce tensions with College Council (CC) and SGA. Tensions came to a head last spring when SGA introduced legislation that would put the Council under its jurisdiction.
Patrick McBride, B-School junior and chairman of the Undergraduate Business School Leadership Conference for the BBA Council, said that at the time SGA was critical of the Council's unclear election guidelines. B-School senior and BBA Council Treasurer Gregory Borofsky, one of the co-authors of the amendment, hopes that the changes will promote better relations with the various governing bodies in the College.
"All in all, I don't think [the BBA Council's] relationship this year with the SGA and other divisional councils could be any better," Borofsky said.
In addition, McBride also hopes that through the amendment, the Council has asserted itself as the single governing body of BBA students. At the same time, the Council hopes to align its goals and principles with groups like SGA, CC and the Emory community as a whole.
"I think the biggest misnomer about Goizueta is that we are on our own little island," McBride said. "We want nothing more than to be part of this inquiry-driven community that we all love."
The Council also approved an amendment that will expedite the process by which changes can be made to the Council Code. By separating the code and election guidelines in its constitution, the Council can now make changes on a more periodic basis. The move is in an effort to better and more quickly meet the needs of Goizueta undergraduates.
According to Borofsky, these amendments serve as major improvements by providing for increased transparency, more relevancy and greater effectiveness.
"If I had to sum up what this year's BBA Council has brought to the student body with its revised Constitution, it is greater transparency, more accountability and much needed flexibility to address the ever-changing concerns of students," Borofsky said.
Moving forward, the BBA Council now plans on turning its attention to issues concerning the student activities fees and better community integration.
– By Gabrielle Loudermilk
glouder@emory.edu
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