Student Congress has taken a step in the right direction by proposing a bill to relieve the student body secretary of the responsibility of updating the Student Code.
The bill would go a long way toward making sure the secretary’s explicit responsibilities reflect his evolving role in Student Government.
According to the bill, which was proposed by the Student Congress’ rules and judiciary committee and will be considered by the full Congress after Spring Break, it will be the job of the principal clerk of Student Congress to update the Student Code so that it reflects new legislation.
This clarification is important because of the ways in which the role of the student body secretary has changed in recent years. With the advent of social media, for instance, and a general shift toward online rather than written communication, the student body secretary has increasingly taken on the role of a communications officer.
Zach De La Rosa, speaker pro tempore of Congress, explained, “The secretary has become a kind of a (public relations) person. The clerk works for the Student Code.”
Student Government needs the secretary to be able to focus his attention on things like managing its website and ensuring effective e-mail communication with the student body.
The student body secretary has less and less time to complete the clerical work of, well, a secretary.
Furthermore, there is an important distinction between a hired clerk who is paid by the hour and an appointed secretary who receives a fixed stipend.
Since the student body secretary’s compensation does not depend on updating the Code, there is no incentive to make such updates a priority.
