Efficiency plus thorough planning = effective reform

Recent efforts to reform the TCU senate constitution reflect inherent flaws in the reform system and its approaches. Issues of concern and controversy must be dealt with and solved efficiently, and that means settling the debate once and for all through an organized, thorough process rather than a long drawn-out and convoluted series of small committee meetings and bickering constituencies.

It is relatively safe to say that the debate on the validity and fairness of the culture rep system is an endless one. At the end of the day, it's simply reality that not everyone can be satisfied, and there never will be a situation in which every single constituency will be equally at peace with the system. A good piece of advice to constitution reformers should be to focus efforts on finding a just, efficient method to settle the debate instead of scrambling _ ineffectively _ to satisfy rival constituencies.

If the senators leading the reform effort pushes forward with its proposed reform tactics with this mindset, the reform is bound to fail. In each of the past three years, there has been some sort of student-wide voting process held concerning the culture rep system, and it's not unreasonable to conclude that after each of those elections, the debate has only grown more heated and less settled. It's time to settle the issue in a truly democratic and efficient manner before the entire student body _ before those who should really form the crux of the opinion rather than a few vocal representatives of various constituencies lose complete interest in the entire issue because of the ridiculous lack of direction and the lack of any prospect of settlement in reform efforts.

Reformists would also do well to manage planning more thoroughly when it comes to looking at possible changes to the constitution. It is laughable that there is talk to reform the constitution yet again given that the constitution has just been revised. Had these reforms been more insightful and more forward-looking in their planning, perhaps these baby steps of ineffective and unsettled reform could have been prevented.

We are not supporting sweeping generalized reforms that would be equally ineffective, but rather more thorough planning and foresight to what sorts of issues will be of concern once the reforms are implemented _ and how to address those concerns in the initial reform effort or election. It's time for those in charge of reform to buckle down before they lose valuable respect for their abilities to lead and represent efficiently and effectively.