Fix it and forget it

After the debacle during last week’s vote on funding for Students for a Democratic Society speakers, Student Congress will have a second shot to clearly state its stance on the issue.

Questions of abstentions and a miscount led Student Congress Speaker Joe Levin-Manning to call for a new vote on the bill, saying that the results of the original vote had been unclear. The bill passed the second time by a margin of 2 votes.

This led to a lawsuit challenging the results of the original vote and Levin-Manning’s decision to call for a revote.

The plaintiffs say Levin-Manning misinterpreted Congressional rules.

But Student Body President Jasmin Jones vetoed the bill, favoring a new, compromised version slated to be discussed Monday. The new version is a combined effort of Jones and SDS and would allocate $1,032 instead of the original $2,095.

We commend Jones for working toward a more efficient and fair compromise. Not only will it help SDS bring its speakers to campus, more student fees will be available to student groups.

And while the debate surrounding the Levin-Manning’s procedure generated good questions about the complexities of the Student Code, the new SDS funding bill gives Student Congress the opportunity to move past the incident.

Clearly, Levin-Manning was acting in good faith in calling a revote, and since no objections were made during the meeting, representatives should not waste further time on this issue.

This is a good lesson for new representatives about the importance of procedure and the necessity of understanding their roles as defined by the Student Code.

Representatives should approve the new SDS funding proposal. But they should also use this as a learning experience to ensure Student Code clarifications don’t get in the way of the democratic process.