Tonight elections for the next Oakland University Student Congress president will close.

Voting to approve or strike down the latest OUSC constitutional amendments will end as well.

Some of these amendments are no small deal, according to OUSC President Brandon Hanna and Residence Hall Association President Franklin Kennamer. One will take away voting rights from the RHA representative who sits on OUSC council – in this case, Kennamer.

Kennamer said he had only just found out he had voting rights when they were taken away not two weeks later.

“RHA, I feel, is the voice of Housing, and by taking voting rights away you’re taking the voice away,” Kennamer said. “They let me speak, they let me give my opinion on things, but what good is a voice if you can’t vote?”

On March 17 Kennamer motioned to amend the constitution to give him his rights back. He said the OUSC voted to keep it as is before he could argue his case, however.

“Basically all the legislators were saying this is a waste of time,” Kennamer said. “It was pretty insulting.”

This caused much unrest at OUSC’s March 24 meeting.

“I was very upset, so I took this issue to the general body who attends the RHA meetings,” Kennamer said. “Residents were all very upset, some were even outraged.”

Hanna said that he is currently doing everything he can to work with Kennamer, the RHA and other OUSC members to “find a middle ground” and “make sure that every student on campus has their voice heard”.

“The legislature of OUSC decided when reviewing the constitution that the RHA representatives did not need a voting right since they are technically not voted on, they’re appointed,” Hanna said. “RHA did not lose their spot on OUSC. OUSC took their voting right away, but not their speaking right.”

“It’s hard to put it into words,” Kennamer said. “I guess I’m not saying that OUSC is wrong and RHA’s right, I just want people to be informed so that people can form their own opinion on it.”

Other revisions to the constitution will establish the Student Activities Funding Board and the Student Program Board as separate organizations outside of the OUSC’s jurisdiction, according to Hanna.

To read the constitutional revisions or vote go to oakland.edu/voteou.