***CORRECTION: In Thursday’s article “GSC approves change to officer term limits,” The Daily inaccurately suggested that the term limit change has been enacted. The amendment to the Joint Bylaws approved by the GSC must also be approved by the Undergraduate Senate. Furthermore, the old Constitution said the term of the outgoing ASSU Executive ended immediately following the election of a new slate. The new amendment says that the term of the outgoing ASSU executives ends no later than 14 days before the end of the quarter of the election unless otherwise specified in the Joint By-Laws of the ASSU.***

The successors of both the ASSU President and Vice President will have to take the helm sooner than expected this year, due to a bill passed with a two-thirds majority vote at the Graduate Student Council (GSC) meeting last night. The bill amends the Joint

Association Bylaws governing the duration of the ASSU executive term in office.

This bill changes the language of the Association Policies, stating that the term of the ASSU President and Vice President shall end two weeks after voting in the ASSU election concludes. According to the bill, the new successors will take office immediately thereafter.

The ASSU Constitution previously stated that the terms of the President and Vice President of the student body were meant to end 14 days before the end of the spring quarter, after the new elected executives took office.

“According to the existing constitution, unless there is an amendment to the Joint Bylaws of the ASSU, we would be serving for a year and a quarter,” said Mondaire Jones ‘09, student body vice president. “We don’t think that is a prudent thing to do.”

But according to Jones, even after their terms end, both he and student body President Hershey Avula ‘08 have agreed to make themselves available for the incoming executives in order to facilitate a smooth transition to office.

“We do think it is important that [the elected executives] transition officially into their role, so that they can become accustomed to the position,” Jones said. “This [bill] will allow a more adequate and substantive transition period.”

Jones also added that the elected executives will have orientation meetings organized by the ASSU during these two weeks.

“I think it is particularly important that there is a smooth transition this year, because there are many executive slates without ASSU experience,” he added.

The bill was co-sponsored by both GSC Parliamentarian Adam Beberg and Undergraduate Senator Corinne Prudhomme ‘10, chair of the Undergraduate Senate Administration and Rules Committee. The newly enacted bill, requiring a two-thirds joint legislative body vote, had also passed at the Undergraduate Senate the night before.