The Radcliffe Student Government Association will reorganize itself in line with the college's house system before new officers are elected in late February, Emily R. Otis, President of SGA, announced yesterday.
A small committee of SGA members will spend the next three months drafting a new constitution to be presented to the student body in a referendum at the beginning of the Spring Term.
"The basic problem is that we have an awful lot of groups and nobody knows who does what or why," Ruth Wyler Messinger '62, reporting for the committee, explained at an SGA meeting yesterday. She pointed out that, in the past, the Board of Hall Presidents and the SGA representatives have performed parallel legislative functions.
Abolish Board of Hall
One solution would be the abolition of Board of Hall, Mrs. Messinger suggested. This year the SGA has taken over the consideration and revision of rules formerly done by Board of Hall, leaving the dorm presidents the tasks of communicating messages from the Dean of Residence's office and judging infractions of the Radcliffe honor system.
"Obviously the SGA is perfectly capable of conveying messages," Mrs. Messinger observed. In the future, she proposed, the new house committees could handle judicial cases.
Another problem is the representation of off-campus houses, which will eventually be replaced by the fourth house center. Under the present system, each off-campus house, no matter how small, elects one representative to the SGA. The brick dorms elect only one representative for each 40 residents.
"Because the off-campus people never come to meetings, we seldom have a quorum to do business," Mrs. Messinger noted. "If they did come, the small houses would be over-represented."
Suggestions Welcomed
"All the proposed changes in the SGA constitution are completely subject to your criticism and revision," Miss Otis told the 20 members present at the meeting. She emphasized that the reorganization committee is not a closed group. "Anyone who has a burning interest in the problem of revising SGA is welcome to join us."
During the term, committee members will meet frequently with Catherine D. Williston, associate Dean of Instruction.
Read more in News
Ed Dean Asks Local Schools To Cooperate