MAJOR CHANGES possibly await the 2005 Constitution of the Undergraduate Students of the Loyola Schools (LS) as the series of Constitutional Convention (ConCon) delegate assembly readings commenced on January 18 at the Ching Tan Lecture Hall of the John Gokongwei School of Management.

17 out of the 29 official representatives of all sectors were present on the first day to examine the proposed amendments to Articles I to IV, which highlight the identity of the Sanggunian and the LS student body, as well as the rights, duties, and obligations of the latter.

Identifying those that are under its jurisdiction, Article I contains the formal definition of the LS student body, whose bill of rights is stated in Article II, and duties and responsibilities in Article III.

Meanwhile, Article IV defines the Sanggunian by specifying that Ateneans who belong to the LS student body are also members of the said government.

LS student body expanded

Majority of the delegation voted to include exchange and part-time students under the jurisdiction of the LS student body, with 16 and 15 “yes” votes, respectively.

Exchange students include undergraduates from partner institutions who take classes in the Ateneo, while part-time students carry a load of less than 12 units.

Article I of the Constitution originally explains that all LS undergraduate students are included in the student body regardless of nationality, while excluding graduate, auditor, cross-registrant, exchange, non-degree, part-time, public servant, and special students.

According to Analysis and Discourse Cluster Delegate Gabriel Marmeto, exchange and part-time students need to be represented in the LS student body because they also take undergraduate classes as the regular Ateneans do.

“The main reason why I want them to be put under the jurisdiction is they may enjoy the rights and uphold the responsibilities that the Constitution gives them,” Marmeto said.

He emphasized, “This is to ensure an equal and just space for them to be represented as well.”

Marmeto added that Article IV is an iteration of Article I, where those under the jurisdiction of the LS student body are also under that of the Sanggunian.

Magna carta over bill of rights

Christian Union for Socialist and Democratic Advancement Delegate Mark Legaspi proposed to do away with the Bill of Rights altogether, replacing it with provisions that primarily uphold the Magna Carta of Undergraduate Student Rights.

The proposal of Legaspi gained approval from the majority, having garnered 18 “yes” votes.

Legaspi, however, excluded Article II Sections 18 and 19 from deletion, and suggested that these be put in a separate article.

The said sections focus on democratic relations between the student body and Sanggunian, where the former has the right to initiate veto action against unfavorable acts of the latter, as well to initiate the recall and impeachment of elected Sanggunian officials who fail to fulfill their duties and responsibilities.

Confederation of Publications Delegate Regine Cabato supported this, saying that she “can’t see exactly, apart from Sections 18 and 19, any specifics of these in the second article that are not already answered or provided by in even better wording in the Magna Carta of Students’ Rights.”

Amendments that were agreed upon by the delegation are still tentative until the last week of February, wherein the revised constitution will have been finalized.

The next reading is scheduled on January 22 at the Institute of Social Order (ISO) Building, with emphasis on the structure of Sanggunian.