There are a few things in the Daily Collegian's article Tuesday concerning the restructuring of student government that need to be clarified. I feel this clarification is important because if the details of a restructuring plan are not clear, people have a tendency to get caught up in those details and miss the big picture.

1. The proposed changes are not intended to "make USG more. . .powerful" as the article stated. Under our plan, USG will no longer exist. This is not a plan to consolidate power in USG; the plan calls for the dissolution of USG in order to create a more effective student government. This plan is to enable student organizations and governments to effectively address Universitywide issues: a crucial requirement of student government which we do not possess.

2. The article stated that the proposal "was not meant to be brought to the public." This is not true. The proposal WAS meant to be brought to the public --without the approval of the "public," the plan can't be implemented. A better way to represent the situation is to say "The proposal was not yet READY to be brought to the public."

Last Tuesday, I wrote an overall proposal using ideas and documents that myself and others had created over the last few months. On Wednesday, I showed it to some people who asked to check it out. One of these people decided to copy it and send it out to everyone on USAB and to the Collegian. As a result, everyone who had been working on the restructuring plan was not ready to make a proposal. It's really not a big deal; however, we would have liked the opportunity to prepare and give an effective presentation to everyone involved with student governance. This is the situation that prompted the aforementioned statement in the Collegian.

3. The article stated that "Other student organization might be able to join the House of Delegates in the future." This is incorrect; other organizations will be able to join in the future once things are in place.

Now, to focus on the big picture. If our student government was a company, we would've been bankrupt years ago. Our structure inhibits our ability to address Universitywide issues. Notice we have been unable to effectively address the Future Committee cuts, the Pepsi deal, ad infinitum. Now that the forum for action is being established, we can take the plan and alter it until it adequately addressed all student organization's needs.

People have been talking about restructuring student government for at least 15 years (I found plans dating back to 1978 when I cleaned my office). The need for change has been realized for many years; however, the time for talk is over. . .it's time to get something done.