The controversial Amendment III - which would have stripped culture representatives of their right to vote - failed to pass yesterday by a narrow margin. Of the 2,502 students who voted, 48 percent voted against the amendment, and 40 percent voted for it. Of the 52 percent of the campus that voted, 283 abstained.
Though the status quo was upheld, this year's margin was much smaller than last year's referendum to grant the culture reps voting power. Last year, 55 percent voted to allow culture reps to vote, and 34 percent voted to deny them the vote.
Because of this year's high voter turnout, many predicted the issue would come up again next year.
"The closeness of the vote count shows it's a very controversial and dividing issue," senator Josh Belkin said. "The debate was not a matter of trying to silence anyone, it was a philosophical difference over views of democracy and representation."
Senator Jill Beir hopes that next year's students and senators will come together and find a resolution right for the majority of campus. "Being that it was such a close margin, it's obvious that it's something that a lot of people on campus think about," she said.
Part of the unprecedented voter turnout was attributed to the controversial nature of the amendment. Chalkings, Daily Viewpoints, and open forums attracted many students to sound off on the issue.
Some students were disappointed the amendment failed.
"I just thought it was stupid for people vote if they weren't elected to the Senate," sophomore Jared Blum said. "If they want a vote, they should just run for a Senate seat."
Sophomore Elizabeth Candee agreed that although culture reps were important, they should not have the right to vote. "If every group on campus decided that they were under-represented and wanted their own culture rep, there would be more culture reps voting than senators!"
Junior Laura Horwitz was glad the amendment failed, because it tried to solve the culture rep issue without the input of the culture reps themselves.
"I am concerned that debate over this issue has caused polarization on the campus that may be irreconcilable," she said. "We need to find a way to have a constructive dialogue about the racial issues at the heart of this debate."
But while senator Randy Newsom said he was glad the amendment failed, he felt the current system could be improved. He said the amendment was worse than the status quo.
"I'm glad it didn't pass. I really think the system we have now isn't the best system but it's better than what was proposed," he said. "I think next year this is going to be a very hot topic."
Newsom hopes to find a happy medium in which culture groups - and all campus groups - would have adequate representation, while addressing the opposition's concerns.
"This school has enough smart, concerned people that we can find a way to get everybody happy with the representation in student government," he said.
