Constitutional reform has been effectively brought to a halt for an indeterminate period by the refusal of over half the students in the College to vote during the past two-day plebiscite, final returns showed late last night.
Only 2420 ballots were cast out of approximately 5400 possible undergraduate votes, but Edric A. Weld, Jr. '46, chairman of the Constitution Reform Committee, was encouraged by the high proportion of affirmative replies: there were 2104 ayes to 294 nays, with 22 spoiled ballots.
Council Action Possible
"The next move is up to the Council," shrugged Weld. "It is in favor of a majority of the provisions of the new document, and under the existing constitution, which is not inactive until voted inactive, the Council may by a two-thirds vote ratify the new constitution even though it has not been approved by the student body. The only requirement is that the new constitution be posted for a period of thirty days, and this one conforms to that ruling."
Despite the fact that less than half the college voted, Weld hailed the election as having stimulated more interest than any other College-wide balloting in many years. Closest in recent history was the 2300 total reached during the fall Council elections.
Provisions Studied
In some places students studied carefully the digest of the provisions listed on the ballot, and in Dunster more than 30 men consulted the Constitution itself. Dunster was also high among the Houses in total ballots cast with a husky 274, which was surpassed only by the Union.
Widespread apathy contrasted with these cases. Low unit on the poll was Dudley, where only 47 out of a possible 300 votes were registered. Ballot-box custodians reported complete scorn in many cases. Yardlings plagued vote-tailliers with numerous "go to hell" comments, while among the Houses, Kirkland stood out for several charges of "clique" written in on the ballots.
The Unit Voting Record:
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