Student Government begins to revise constitution

By Ari Gevov
Staff Writer

Mira Costa’s Associated Student Body voted on April 16 to revise the 1950 constitution for the first time in 62 years.

The main goal of the new ASB constitution is to update the formal responsibilities of people in leadership positions. Before the constitution was allowed to be revised, ASB Vice President Mackenzie Austin held a meeting on March 19 to introduce the proposed changes.

“We are passionate about changing the constitution,” Austin said. “We want to make a difference. We are going to outline how kids are supposed to lead.”

Austin held an ASB meeting regarding the revisions to the constitution on April 16. Students who attended the meeting contributed ideas for the constitution and voted on these ideas.

“After the voting, we were allowed to start rewriting the constitution,” Austin said.

Student Government collaborated with Student Leadership Council in writing the new constitution. ASB approached Principal Ben Dale for counseling and advice about how to effectively revise the constitution.

“I have the right to veto,” Dale said. “But I’m only advising now. The goal is that the new leadership positions fit into the whole picture. It’s about time that the constitution was changed.”

In the revised constitution, job descriptions, the election process, and the inner workings of ASB will be updated.

“I think updating the constitution is really great,” sophomore Christine Chuang said. “It will make school leaders more effective.”

Since the original draft of the constiution was written in 1950, the constitution has not been signifcantly altered except for the addition of four amendments.

“Updating the constitution is important because so much has changed since it was last updated,” senior SLC member Jill Thompson said. “It will clear up any discrepancies.”

The previous constitution only focused on the jobs and responsibilities of ASB members. The architects of the new constitution plan to lay out all leadership opportunities at Costa.
Activities Director Lisa Claypoole declined to comment on the constitution revisions.