Gelfand said he will leave this issue for the incoming student government officers to solve.

Last year, the student government constitution was amended so that the incoming president and vice president would take office on April 1 instead of at the end of the year to create a longer transition period. This amendment allowed Gelfand to run for president as a third-year student. Gelfand’s new draft of the constitution eliminates the possibility of graduating students running for office.

Rachna Shah, who acted as vice president of the student government from 2011 to 2012 and lost to Gelfand in the presidential election, which he won by a plurality, said that she was saddened that Gelfand “took the liberty” to extend the constitutional writing process over the summer and that a formal student government does not currently exist. Gelfand is not on campus and Roberts is acting as president—the sole member of student government, without any representatives or a board.

“Changing the name isn’t going to change the fact that there needs to be people who make decisions and can advocate on behalf of students on behalf of those decisions to the administration,” Shah said.

Roberts and Gelfand said that they have not received much feedback on the new draft of the constitution. Roberts said that half of the comments he has received are grammatical.

“Law students being law students, commas make a difference,” he said.

Law School Dean of Students Ellen M. Cosgrove said that few students seem interested in the new constitution or the upcoming elections.

“This is a non-issue for 99 percent of the student body,” Cosgrove said. “There’s a handful of students who were involved last year who were upset, but other than that...people don't seem very focused on that at all.”

—Staff writer Juliet R. Bailin can be reached at jbailin@college.harvard.edu.