The seven lucky Gods of Japan represent the seven proposed recommendations

CCSC gazed long into the abyss, Brian Wagner gazed back into them.

• Melissa Im, the president of Columbia’s chapter of the Ivy Council gave a presentation on why CCSC’s Bylaws should allow CCSC to play a large role in electing Ivy Council’s leadership. Ivy Council is an organization that gathers together members from all the Ivy League schools to meet and discuss school policies, big issues for collegiate students, and other fun things. If this amendment is put into place, a liaison on Ivy Council will be responsible for reporting directly to ESC and CCSC, giving the Councils input into how the other Ivies perceive Columbia. The Council tabled voting on this, but a quick straw poll indicated that most members would be in favor.
• The real focus of the meeting was the Resolution on Elections Board Rules & Regulations. The Resolution contained seven different recommendations, and the Council dealt with them on an individual basis. The Council does not have the power to force the Election Board to do anything; the following are nothing more than recommendations that EB will consider during its yearly review of election rules and regulations. A full breakdown of resolutions after the jump.

1. The Council resolved to recommend abolishing the moratorium on  on campaigning during the last days of the election. They argued that it is very hard to control online campaigning, candidates should have full control over their campaign, and the moratorium actually decreases awareness about elections.
2. CCSC passed a resolution that recommends the removal of the Elections Board’s regulation of online materials, because these regulations do a poor job of accounting for the rapid growth of online media.
3. The Council did not pass a resolution that suggested a 50% reduction in the amount of posters allowed to candidates. Some argued that this is better for Mother Nature and others felt that posters are pointless regardless. Those against the resolution argued that candidates should be able to campaign however they wish and that some people ignore the large amount of online campaigning because it’s, well, really annoying.
4. CCSC rejected a recommendation that the Executive Board be elected on an individual basis while retaining the ability for voters to easily vote by party, but resolved to discuss the measure again in the future. The Council was divided on this issue; some felt that budding student politicians should be able to learn to work together, and others felt that this would only lead to general gridlock would turn elections into a popularity contest as opposed to a platform-centric race.
5. The Council did not pass a recommendation that all rules, accusations, and decisions by the Elections Board against the candidates be posted on the EB’s website for all to see. Some members felt that this is irrelevant because no one looks at the EB’s site, and others saw this as a desirable move towards increased transparency.
6. CCSC passed a recommendation that campus media’s candidate endorsements not be regulated by the Elections Board. Most importantly, this stops candidates from abusing group listservs, a great fear for all Columbian. CCSC has no beef with the fact that the EB controls endorsements by student groups, but thinks that the EB’s reach should extend to student groups only, and not beyond. As one CCSC-er eloquently phrased the feeling of discontent “If the Heights Bar & Grill wants to endorse me, I want to be able to say that!” In the end, the Council passed this item.
7. The seventh item on the resolution regarded implementing a new system (called STV) to rank votes, but because no one really understands how it works, it was tabled for next week.

East Asian imagery via Wikimedia.