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Houston Texan quarterback David Carr signs autographs after the ´Leadership On and Off the Playing Field´ forum held on Monday at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center. Former President George Bush, Houston Texans head coach Dom Capers, former Houston Astros manager Larry Dierker, CBS sports announcer Jim Nantz and Carr answered questions from the audience. (Photo by JP BEATO III / THE BATTALION )

MSC president may become elected office

By: Joaquin Salcedo

Posted: 3/23/04

A referendum will appear on this spring's student body election ballots that may determine if the Memorial Student Center president will be elected instead of appointed.

The Student Senate passed the MSC President Referendum Bill at its meeting March 10.

This decision was introduced by a record coalition of 18 senators and is the result of strong and widespread student demands that the Student Senate could no longer ignore, said Matthew Wilkins, speaker of the Student Senate.

Currently, the MSC president is selected through an interview team of eight to nine people that includes the acting MSC president, MSC director, MSC senior staff, MSC executive vice presidents, MSC committee chair and a campus representative. The president is selected at the beginning of the spring semester.

"If the majority of students vote for a democratically elected MSC president, the Senate will decide the best way to implement it (the bill)
and move forward," Wilkins said.

Once appointed, the president oversees the MSC Council and committees and acts as the primary MSC representative to students, former students, faculty and administration. The president also serves on many University committees and as of recently serves as a representative in the Tuition Policy Advisory Committee.

Elizabeth Dacus, current MSC president, said a student body campaign is an expensive and time-consuming task that comes too late in the school year to be effective for the MSC.

"It would be a disservice to the MSC and its volunteers for MSC officers to spend all of their time campaigning when they could be focused on MSC
programs and activities," Dacus said.

Dacus said there are no plans to change the MSC president to an elected position, and that only the MSC council has the power to make that decision.

"The MSC president must oversee a variety of activities, programs, committees and other efforts that require a great deal of experience with the Texas A&M community and the MSC," she said.

Scott Smith, an off-campus senator, said Dacus is opposed to a democratic election of MSC leadership and does not consider student opinion to be important in matters concerning president selection.

The Senate's main claim for the bill is that students are tired of being taxed by the MSC but denied representation, Wilkins said.

Also, scandals surrounding the MSC such as the more than $60,000 in T-shirt funds that were misplaced by the MSC earlier this year have been determining factors for the Senate's decision, Wilkins said.

No resolution has been achieved yet on this matter because the Student Senate is waiting for the results of the referendum before taking further action.

The referendum has been included on the spring ballot and may be accessed by students at http://vote.tamu.edu on the designated voting days March 31 and April 1.