This week, Undergraduate Student Government’s (USG) College Council (CC) heard funding appeals from the UChicago Space Program (UCSP) and Computational Biology Club, voted to implement ranked-choice voting in USG cabinet elections, and placed a referendum on the spring ballot on whether USG should introduce a Judicial Council.
CC also considered allocations set by the Student Government Finance Committee (SGFC) at its meeting last Thursday during the motion to approve its minutes, sparking a brief dispute between Class of 2029 Representative Gavin Wynn and SGFC Chair Caitlin Mooney. Wynn advocated for changing the rules to allow funding from the University’s organizations to count toward required fundraising thresholds—in this case, the Latino Medical Student Association receiving money from the Pritzker School of Medicine—while Mooney said the committee should consider the matter later. The decisions by SGFC were subsequently approved.
CC then considered an appeal from the UChicago Space Program (UCSP), which had requested funding for transportation to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Aerospace Conference in Big Sky, Montana, next week. Their request was rejected because SGFC rules prohibit providing funding during reading period, and the flight would take place on the Sunday of reading period.
CC Vice Chair Kevin Guo read a statement from Class of 2026 Representative William Kimani, in which Kimani argued that the “blanket application [of the reading period rules] produces an extraordinary, and I don’t use extraordinarily lightly here, unjust result.”
Kimani added that the date of the event was fixed in advance and could not be changed, and that the RSO had revised its request so as not to spend any money during the duration of reading period. He also noted the academic value of sending students to the conference.
“If the reading period prohibition is applied without exception to externally scheduled conferences of significant professional and scientific value, the effect is to punish students for circumstances entirely beyond their control, especially students engaging with innovative academic discourse,” his statement read.
In response to Kimani’s statement, Wynn criticized what he called a larger problem facing RSO funding by CC: “I think any club that fundraises $5,000 of a $7,000 request [from SGFC], and we’re telling them they haven’t met the fundraising requirement, is absurd. It is crazy.” He proposed a motion to fund UCSP the full amount, which passed in a 15–2 vote with two abstentions.
CC next considered whether to uphold a Community Service Fund (CSF) decision to deny UChicago Computational Biology Outreach funds to pay for cars to attend events at local schools because the RSO could use public transit instead.
USG President Elijah Jenkins—who acted as a proxy for Class of 2027 Representative Demetrius Daniel—said that the Council should be trying to help the group do their work more efficiently, particularly since the events were on school days. Class of 2026 Representative Pavlik Braverman said, “I know many people who regularly go downtown, spend an hour-long bus drive, there and back, on any days of the week just having fun or doing a trip…. It’s not too much for an RSO.” The decision was ultimately remanded back to CSF.
College Council also took up a proposal from Guo to introduce ranked choice voting in the next USG cabinet election. Representatives expressed confusion about how ranked-choice voting would function and how procedural changes would affect Guo’s own prospects in the upcoming election but generally supported the measure.
Class of 2029 Representative Aaron Horowitz expressed his support for the proposal, noting that a joke ticket had been narrowly defeated at Northwestern because of their student government’s adoption of ranked choice voting. He argued that the system would allow UChicago voters to make good choices.
The resolution passed 16–2 with two abstentions, and representatives voted unanimously to amend USG’s election code with the changes.
CC also voted on adding a referendum to the spring ballot to introduce a Judicial Council to adjudicate disputes about the USG constitution and bylaws. After Guo reviewed some minor revisions to the proposal, the Council approved the measure unanimously.
College Council holds weekly public meetings in Stuart Hall 104 on Mondays at 7 p.m.
Editor’s note: CC representative Aaron Horowitz is a current staff member of the Maroon. He had no involvement in the reporting of this story.
Editor’s note, March 4, 9:54 p.m.: A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to William Kimani as a representative for the UChicago Space Program. He is a fourth-year College Council representative.
