Constitution is Unclear

The staff presents the latest council controversy in its customary black-and-white fashion: the people have spoken, and the council is trying to stifle that voice.

This view, while rhetorically snazzy, ignores the existence of a legitimate constitutional debate. To us, it is not at all clear that the proposed referendum was consistent with the dictates of the constitution, which says that "any question" can be brought to a referendum of the student body. Anjalee C. Davis' petition had five questions and only required one signature to support all of them. Nor is it clear that it would be a bad thing to require a certain number of signatures for each question. Representative governments always have to find a balance between the popular will and stability. Allowing one group of activist students to flood the student body with referendums may not be the best system.

Carey Gabay's condescending attitude certainly deserves criticism. Unfortunately, in its haste to bash the council again, the staff is overlooking legitimate issues.