A referendum asking students to vote on remaining a part of the UNC-system Association of Student Governments should be on the ballot for elections in February.
Student Congress is considering putting the issue up to a vote on the Nov. 8 Homecoming ballot.
This leaves little time to ensure students understand the problems surrounding ASG and the consequences of leaving.
It is important to get as much student input as possible. Historically, more students vote in the student body president elections than vote for Mr. and Miss UNC on the Homecoming ballot.
Some argue that, if students vote to leave ASG, placing the referendum on the November ballots will give student leaders more time to petition the Board of Trustees and Board of Governors to remove the $1 annual student fee that funds the association.
But, it would take substantial time before the students could successfully petition to leave the organization, let alone begin talking about removing the fee. It is possible that even with a head start the issue will not be brought to the boards in time — it took years for groups such as the Sierra Student Coalition to finally be heard by the board.
Another argument for the November ballot is that allowing this issue to be part of candidates’ platforms in the spring could derail the student body president election.
But this is a necessary consequence of informing students on the issue. When the question of ASG membership was included in student body president elections last year, it prompted students to discuss the issue.
If campus waits until February to vote, student leaders may even be able to work with ASG to reform the organization, so that students no longer feel the need to leave the association.
