Congress stipends left up to students

When students select Mr. and Ms. UNC on the October Homecoming ballot, they also will have the opportunity to vote on a referendum that would entitle top Student Congress officials to receive monetary compensation for their positions.

If the proposal passes by a simple majority vote of at least 2.5 percent of the student body, it will place a provision in the Student Constitution allowing the speaker of Congress and the speaker pro tem to receive compensation.

Part of the Constitution, Title I of the Student Code, states that "no Student Congress member shall be entitled to a salary."

Kris Wampler, vice chairman of the Finance Committee, discovered while working on revisions to the Code that a section of the document allowed Congress to pay high-ranking officials. But that provision did not follow suit with the Constitution, which overrides all other parts of the Code.

"We're in violation with the code," Wampler said. "That's the bottom line."

At press time, members had yet to discuss a bill that would prohibit Student Congress members from receiving any form of compensation, clearing up ambiguous language in the Code.

If the referendum passes in October, the speaker pro tem and the speaker of Congress could be compensated without violating the Constitution.

"I want to emphasize that ... this is a legal way of getting stipends," Wampler said.

Both Speaker Charlie Anderson and Speaker Pro Tem Jen Orr have been offered stipends but have not accepted them.

Students will vote either for or against the proposed change to the Constitution, which would read, "No Student Congress Member, except the Speaker and Speaker Pro Tempore, shall be entitled to monetary compensation."

Members debated and eventually amended the referendum to put the issue to a vote this fall instead of waiting for elections next spring.

Orr said that if the referendum passes on the Homecoming ballot, the Finance Committee will be able to re-evaluate the issue prior to the annual budget meetings that will take place in February.

"I think doing this early on will enable us to evaluate what we should do with this issue," Orr said.

Other representatives said delaying the vote until the spring elections would allow more time to publicize the issue and solicit more student opinion because more students vote during spring elections.

"Waiting until the spring will allow us to have that debate and deliberation on campus," Wampler said.

Representatives voted 13-10 to put the referendum before the student body during the Homecoming elections.

Ethics Committee Chairman Parker Wiseman said addressing the issue early is the best option.

"I think it's probably best to deal with the matter as quickly as possible."

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu..