By Kelline Linton, Chief Copy Editor

Members of the Students’ Association Congress began the semester by closing their meeting to the public so they could discuss and vote on an elections amendment to the By-Laws. This amendment, which passed 34-1-1, will keep the Elections Committee accountable to Congress.

For an executive officers election, where the president, vice president and treasurer are elected by the student body, the Elections Committee will now need to present the Elections Rules and Procedures to Congress at least four weeks before the beginning of elections, and if the Committee issues an elections violation to any candidate during the elections, the candidate can request that Congress review the violation to ensure the Elections Committee followed the rules and procedures.

Caleb Archer, parliamentarian of SA Congress, said the meeting was closed because of the sensitive issues that needed to be discussed.

“We were talking about elections, and we wanted people to honestly share their experiences,” said Daniel Paul Watkins, president of SA Congress.

Usually a meeting is re-opened to the public after the debate of a bill, but this amendment was presented in a unique way.

Congress discussed the history of the bill and personal experiences before presenting and voting on the bill.

Archer said this helped new members of Congress understand the situation.

“Elections have been a tricky process in the past, and we wanted to make things more accountable,” he said. “This puts a system in place for the Elections Committee.”

Watkins said the bill would help to minimize many problems with elections.

“It’s such an emotionally heated event that everyone has a bone to pick about it,” he said.

This year’s Congress has presented bills concerning the Elections Committee in the past, but this amendment is the first to pass.

Besides the amendment, Congress also appointed three new members: Tony Godfrey for sophomore senator, Stacey Klinge for Barret Hall representative and Melanie Wheeler for Morris Hall representative. The vote passed 36-0-0.

Of the three, Godfrey was the only person present at the meeting, but all three have been members of Congress in the past.

“A filled seat is better than an empty seat,” Godfrey said.

Before voting on bills and appointments, Congress met with Dr. Bill Rankin, associate professor of English and director of ACU’s iPhone educational research team about the iPhone Initiative and discussed forming a committee or forum to present student ideas and feedback.

“We don’t want to continue without significant student input,” Rankin said. “We want to address issues with the iPhones.”

Some concerns Rankin presented included possible cheating with iPhones, limited use of iPhones in the classrooms and the impact of iPhones in residence halls.

“We are looking for direction,” he said. “This is year one; it’s going to take a while to get this rolling, but I’m hoping by next year we see a lot more stuff.”

SA Congress’ next event is the congress retreat on Saturday at University Church of Christ. Attendees will discuss big ideas for the semester, including a possible humanitarian event or the funding of drinking fountains along Lunsford Trail.