The Student Government Association is implementing some new policies and changes to the constitution they’ve drafted this semester.

At a National Jesuit Student Leadership conference at Boston College, the executive staff of SGA talked to other Jesuit colleges about how their bylaws and constitutions are structured. After the conference, they discussed how to implement these ideas into a constitution for Loyola.

Nate Ryther, SGA’s executive vice president, said that they wanted to make sure the constitution was the best it could be.

“We wanted to check to see how everybody did it so we could do it the best ourselves,” Ryther said.

Ryther said that one of the most important additions to the new constitution is the table of contents.

“It might seem like a small part, but it is actually very important so students can navigate through the constitution easily,” Ryther said.

The new Constitution has 10 articles located in the Table of Contents that range from what SGA stands for as an organization to their ratification process.

Allison Rogers, SGA’s communication director, said their goal was to make the constitution easier to read. Chief Justice Maya White confirmed that the new constitution is more organized and concise.

“There should be no confusion about what each branch does, or standing committee does, plain and simple. It’s organized,” White said.

Ryther said that they’ve made bylaws for each branch and committee, located on OrgSync, which showcase the day-to-day procedures of how things work in SGA.

These bylaws also include an impeachment process, which Ryther said is based off of the research they’ve done on other schools’ policies.

Former Senator at Large, Allison Cormier, said she is skeptical about the new document.

“I think the new constitution, although well intentioned, lacks substance,” Cormier said.

Cormier said she does not believe that the bylaws should be separated from the constitution at all, because they do not include a student vote. She believes that if the new constitution is ever subjected to future referendums, it will be “meaningless and insubstantial.”

“Unless the branches are going to constantly change their basic goals, purposes and enumerated tasks, then these bylaws need to remain within the constitution and thus, the purview of the students,” Cormier said.

Bylaws are voted on internally, which means that they are not subject to a vote by the student body. So when the student body votes to approve the constitution they are also voting to approve the bylaws located online.

Rogers said she is excited to finally have a constitution that they can trust.

“This document is not just going to last us through this year, it’s going to last us for years to come,” Rogers said.