Student Government Board President Jeff Alex and the eight members of the 2002 board were… Student Government Board President Jeff Alex and the eight members of the 2002 board were elected on April 11. But because of complications surrounding an oversight in SGB’s constitution, the date on which they will actually take office remains undetermined.

Alex said his board is ready to begin mobilizing on the goals it formulated for the upcoming school year, including arranging effective transportation to the new football stadium and working to improve retention rates at Pitt.

But according to the constitution, President Mike Unangst’s 2001 board is officially in office until the beginning of January.

The confusion emanates from changes made to the election cycle when a student referendum passed Proposition A on Oct. 18. The approval of Proposition A mandated that SGB elections would be switched from November to April.

At a meeting two days before the referendum, board members established that if the proposition passed, the 2001 board would hold office from January 2001 to April 2001. Elections would then be held in April, with the new board taking office in May.

According to Alex, the Constitutional Review Committee changed the bylaws of the constitution to reflect the changes in terms of office after Proposition A passed. But it neglected to amend the constitution itself.

Consequently, the constitution now reads that the board will take office on the first day of the winter term: Jan. 7, 2002.

Alex regards the oversight as an error that should not prevent his board from progressing.

“I’m up here every day, trying to get work done and get my board ready,” he said, speaking behind a desk already covered with stacks of papers, letters and memos.

Jay Dworin, a member of Unangst’s 2001 board, agreed that the January date was a technical oversight.

“I don’t think anyone [of the 2001 board] cares to be in office,” he commented.

Yet an air of confusion and controversy continues to pervade the issue of the transition of power.

According to Dworin, the constitutional oversight was called to the 2001 board’s attention approximately two weeks before the close of the school year. Dworin said that Unangst informed the board that he would consult with a parliamentarian and that the board would continue to meet after the school year ended to wrap up business and decide what to do about the constitutional error.

Unangst could not be reached for comment.

On May 1, shortly before he left for a summer internship in New York City, Unangst sent a three-page letter to members of his board and the April electees. In the letter, Unangst reviewed the situation and concluded that the will of the students, as reflected by the referendum, was that the new board would begin working in May.

Unangst asked the 2001 board to “work toward a complete and highly effective transition that will begin immediately.” He also stated his intention to administer the presidential oath to Alex that same day and wrote that Alex could swear in the members of his board at his convenience.

Four days later, the 2001 board convened. Board members Kya O’Quinn and Joel Thurston were absent, but the present members discussed and subsequently passed Resolution 006 with a 5-1 vote.

Drafted by Thurston and e-mailed to the board, the resolution declared that Unangst overstepped the bounds of his authority on May 1 when he swore Alex into office and single-handedly dictated that the transition of power should take place immediately.

“We therefore resolve that all actions taken and directives issued by President Unangst concerning the inauguration and term of office of the 2002 Student Government Board are hereby rescinded and rendered null and void,” the resolution read.

Resolution 006 concluded that SGB