In an effort led by Student Association Executive Vice President Dave Belsky, a new version of the SA constitution has been drafted that will make considerable changes to the executive branch, removing several e-board positions.

The new constitution would divide the executive branch into two sections: the executive board and the executive cabinet. The board would be composed of the president, executive vice president and the treasurer. If passed, the current e-board positions of vice president of multicultural affairs, academic vice president, vice president of university programming and director of communications would be removed from the executive board and become part of the cabinet.

These four positions are now chosen by an election at the end of every year, and vice presidents are held accountable to students; the reorganization would eliminate those elections.

“The cabinet will be a group of high ranking and important officers of the Student Association who direct departments that deal with more specific aspects of the SA,” Belsky said. “These cabinet members will be appointed by the executive board members, and the board members will be held responsible for their actions [by] their supervisors.”

Belsky believes the changes will help to create an improved SA. “The changes being made are necessary because the students of this University deserve more than a mediocre student government,” he said. “They deserve an SA that can get things done, get them done effectively and get them done fairly. Students will see better programming, a more efficient use of their funds and a stronger voice on their behalf when they pass this constitution.”

Members of the current executive board whose positions would be removed, however, do not share Belsky’s outlook on the project.

Academic Vice President Rebecca Kaufman feels the new constitution would, in fact, have a very negative effect on the SA’s ability to serve students.

“I think that the elimination or the removal of the academic vice president from the executive board into a department will take away from the students because academics are our sole purpose of being here. Without academics, we wouldn’t have students to be serving,” she said.

David Bass, vice president for multicultural affairs, shares a similar attitude with Kaufman. “It’s one of the worst ideas I’ve ever heard,” he said. “When students vote for six executive board members, students want six executive board members.”

Bass feels the move to eliminate the board members to be a “power play” by Belsky and believes the student body should be more accurately represented.

“I think that it shows that he doesn’t represent the student body … taking power into fewer hands is a way to disenfranchise students and bring more power into a smaller circle,” he said. “This is actually part of the reason that I’m going to be running for president of the Student Association.”

In order for the new constitution to come into effect it must be approved by the Student Assembly and then voted on by the entire student body. Belsky believes students will agree with the changes made and view them as an opportunity to increase the efficiency of the SA.

“I have faith the students at this University will see the quality of the changes we’re making here and vote yes the entire way through. If not, we’ll head back to the drawing board,” he said. “But the fact of the matter is, what we have now isn’t working as well as it could be.”

Bass, on the other hand, does not have as positive an outlook for the constitution.

“This is going to fail,” he said. “It’s going to fail either in the Assembly, or somehow if it gets past the Assembly, the students will vote against this.”

Belsky, however, emphasized the fact that this is not his personal project, and that it is still a work in progress.

“This constitution, while it was encouraged by me, is a product of students from every point of view in student government coming to an agreement that change is needed,” he said. “I need to point out that this is still a draft and not complete. We are still listening to feedback, still willing to make change.”

There will be a forum on the changes to the constitution that is open to all students on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Old Union Hall.