During a heated Undergraduate Council meeting last night, President Carey W. Gabay '94 moved to bar four of the five questions that were to have appeared on ballots during a student referendum next week.

Former council member Anjalee C. Davis '96 presented a petition signed by 1,128 students calling for a referendum on questions ranging from popular election of the president to distribution of unspent council funds to house committees.

In asking students to sign, Davis had said the council constitution permitted a referendum for any petition with the signatures of one-tenth of the student body--or 663 undergraduates.

But Gabay, offering an alternative interpretation of the constitution (plese see graphic, this page), said each of the five issues on Davis' petition had to have 663 separate signatures.

U.C. CONSTITUTION

from Article IV, Section 5:

"Any question may be committed to a referendum or poll by the Council or by a petition signed by one-tenth of the undergraduates.

"Such a referendum will be advisory unless the provisions of the referendum make its results binding. Such an order can be overturned by three-fourths of the Council."

He said students can vote on the term-bill hikeduring the referendum, but he sent the other fourquestions to the council's executive committee, ofwhich Gabay is a member, for approval.

Gabay made clear during last night's meetingthat he favors cutting four of the questions fromthe referendum ballot. Presenting students with fiveissues at once, he said, "is packing it."

The term-bill hike "will definitely be on thestudent referendum, but the others might not,"said Gabay, adding that the executive board woulddiscuss this Wednesday the constitutionality of avote on the four other measures.

"I think we're being nice enough to allow theterm bill" to go to referendum, he said.

But in an interview after the meeting, Davisaccused the council of "incredible arrogance toignore more than 1,000 of the students' views."

Davis questioned why the council should beallowed to change the petition.

"It's completely illegitimate to change thepetition after it's been signed," Davis said. "Ifthey can change one word after the petition hasbeen turned in, they can change it to anything."

"Now it should be obvious that [councilmembers] will do anything to avoid enforcing theconstitution," Davis said. "Do they think theywere appointed by God?"

The meeting became heated as Davis approachedthe podium following the president's openingremarks to present him with the petition. Gabaywould have none of it.

"You're out of order," he said, bagging hisgavel. "Please take a seat."

When Davis refused, Gabay snapped: "Sit down orget out."

The Constitution

The council's constitution states that "[a]nyquestion may be committed to a referendum or pollby the Council or by a petition signed byone-tenth of the undergraduates."

According to the constitution, "Such areferendum will be advisory unless the provisionsof the referendum make its results binding."

Davis' petition specified that all thosesigning "commit[ted] the attached [five] questionsto a Referendum." The questions were on a sheet ofpaper headed by the words "Binding Referendum" inbold letters.

Gabay said he chose a vote on the term bill inparticular because that was the mostwidely-discussed issue on the petition.

"[That's] my understanding, just from talkingabout it in Quincy House, and because it's whatthe Crimson's been publicizing," Gabay said.

Gabay said that "all of the people, 10 people"talked to among his Quincy constituents had signedthe petition solely because they wanted a vote onthe term-bill hike.

But Davis objected to Gabay's contention thatthe students signed primarily for a vote on theterm-bill increase.

"There's no way for any of us to know whosigned for any of these issues unless we call themall," Davis said.

Aside from the term-bill hike, Davis' petitionwould allow students to vote on popular electionof the four top council executives; semiannualgeneral elections; the distribution of all unspentmoney to the house committees; and the eliminationof the option students have to check a box ontheir term bill and waive their council fee.

Vice President Joshua D. Liston '95 argued thatonly the term-bill hike should be on thereferendum because all the other questions onDavis' petition would require a change in thestudent government's constitution or by-laws.

Liston argued in an interview last night thatthe council has mechanisms to change itsconstitution and by-laws, and said he wasn't surewhether a referendum could "trump" thosemechanisms.

Davis objected to that charge as well.

"When the council wants to change itsconstitution, it presents the amendment to thecouncil and the student body one week beforevoting on it," as specified in the constitution,Davis said.

"The referendum does that directly," Daviscontinued. "It actually lets the student bodydecide then."

Binding?

Following his original line of reasoning,Liston said that with a mechanism in place foramending the constitution, no referendum couldforce the council to implement such changes--as areferendum on the four related issues would do.

"To me, that seems to suggest that a referendumdealing with the constitution can't be binding,"Liston said.

Whether the referendum on the term-bill hikewill be binding or not will be discussed at thisweek's executive board meeting, Gabay said.

Davis said any move to make the referendumadvisory would be a "flagrant violation of thestudent body's constitution."

"[Council members] know that their constitutionstates that if any referendum states it's binding,it's binding," Davis said.

'Sit down or get out'

Secretary Brandon C. Gregoire '95, who isserving as the council's acting parliamentarian inthe absence of David A. Smith '94, told TheCrimson after the meeting that Davis was indeedout of order in presenting Gabay with thepetition.

"It should have been brought up [at the end ofthe meeting] as new business," Gregoire said.

"We've dealt with [Davis] in the past, andunfortunately, you have to be forceful with her,"said Gregoire, explaining Gabay's behavior.

Liston also said that Davis should haveconsulted Gabay in putting together herreferendum.

The president has the final say on all mattersdealing with interpretations of the constitution,Liston said.

"That shows she wasn't really interested onworking through the system," Liston said. "She'sinterpreting the constitution herself and thinkingthat's the authoritative view. It's a view, and itmay be correct, but..."

In the meantime, the council will beginpublicizing its view of the term-bill hike inpreparation for the referendum. While the petitioncalled for elections on April 19-21, members saidthe date will be decided this week by theexecutive board.

Listen said the council will display postersand perhaps do a door-drop or print a specialissue of The Courier, the council's officialnewspaper.

An amendment proposed by Melissa Garza '94 notto spend funds to influence the outcome of thereferendum failed to attain the two-thirds votenecessary to receive consideration by the council.

Grants and Yardfest

In other business, the council's financecommittee presented its grants package last night,awarding approximately $38,251.46 to studentgroups.

According to information provided by thecouncil, 133, applications were received, and 123were reviewed.

More than $100,000 in grants was requested.

Eight amendments to the grants package werebrought to the full council last night by membersof various student groups, of which four weresuccessful.

The amendments added a total of $1,100 to thecouncil's grants package, leaving just over $700in unallocated grants money.

The council also approved a revised andexpanded budget for Yardfest which may includeWu-tang Clan, a rap group, according to Liston.

The revised budget allocates $16,500 forYardfest, up from the $14,500 that was originallyearmarked