Praecellemus December 19, 1997 Election of Interim Officers LSMSA alums, The LSMSA Alumni Association recently underwent a constitutional collapse due to several resignations and impeachments. Although an unofficial Executive Council is keeping the LSMSAAA alive, the crisis has made clear that the present constitution is inadequate. Indeed, under the terms of that constitution, the association has no way to fix itself. It cannot replace the officers who stepped down, and without officers it cannot conduct any legitimate business (including the printing of this newsletter). In other words, the current constitution has created a permanent state of paralysis. Faced with such an obvious deficiency, former LSMSAAA Secretary Andre' DeHon '86 proposed a committee to work out a new guiding document for the association, and asked me to chair the effort. The Virtual Constitutional Convention, consisting of a half-dozen volunteers drawn from open solicitations to the alumni electronic mailing list, has assembled a working document that we hope will solve the LSMSAAA's problems. This new Constitution is posted at the following URL: Please, review the constitution at the aforementioned URL. If you have comments or suggestions, send them to the convention delgates . 1998 is the time for you to voice your opinions on the new constitution and help work it into a more permanent form. Any active alum who wishes to join the convention itself is welcome to do so, by contacting Andre' DeHon . Everyone can keep in touch with the convention's ongoing activitives by watching the web site. The current LSMSAAA election, being conducted by LSMSA staffer Rachel Hughes '88 on behalf of the association, is taking place under the aegis of this new Constitution. Interim officers elected this year will serve until 1999, when the first regular contest is scheduled. We are not choosing a new LSMSAAA Treasurer because Micah Luftig '94, who holds that post, is the only remaining member of the official Executive Council. We acknowledge that this document is being imposed undemocratically, and plead with dues-paying members to grant us their patience. There is no way we could have created a sufficiently complex charter for the LSMSAAA without stepping on some toes. All we can do is appeal to the intractable nature of the constitutional crisis, to the tacit consent we enjoyed from the acting LSMSAAA Executive Council, and to the pains we took to invite input. Although we ask your temporary acceptance of the new Constitution, we do not expect members to embrace it uncritically as a permanent set of rules. Rather, the new Constitution explicitly invites changes. Amendments proposed in 1998 will only require a voting majority to pass, allowing the membership to overturn any offending provisions once we get the LSMSAAA back on its feet. Since most of you were not involved with Louisiana School during construction of the failed constitution, this is the first time the association has had to receive explicit consent from much of the membership. Therefore, I hope you will view the recent dislocations as a valuable opportunity to shape your Alumni Association, and take advantage of the possibilities. Feel free to contact me at , or at (617)441-0586, for more details. Steve Voss (class of '86) (Please note that only members who have paid dues within past 2 years can vote) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ballot President: Andre' DeHon ____ Vice-President Kristina Mores ____ Secretary Brian Beavers ____ Maria Huete ____ Natchitoches Liasion Rachel Hugues ____ Anita DeRouen ____ Mail to: Steve voss, 217 Beason St #2, Somerville, MA 02143 E-mail: voss1@fas.harvard.edu Ballots must be received by January 31, 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Candidates The candidates running for office are as follows: for preseint Andre' Dehon '86, he holds a Ph.D. from MIT and teaches at Berkeley; for vice-president: Krisina Irvan Mores '87, who is working fon her counseling certification; for secretary: Maria Pardo Huete '88, who works for Inroads, a company that recruits minority students for internships, and Biran Beavers '96, a junior majoring in math at Louisiana Tech; and for Natchitoches Liaison: Rache Hughes '88 and Anita DeRouen '87, both of whom work at LSMSA in Admissions and Recruiting. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1988 Ten Year Reunion Planned The Class of 1988 ten year reunion has been set for the weekend of May 29-31, 1998 in and will be held in Natchitoches!!! More specific informatoin will be mailed to class members in January. Members of teh classes of 1987 and 1989 are also invited to attend. Please see further details on the web at or contact Rachel Hughes at (318) 357-3173 or at . ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Two More Alums Join LSMSA Staff/A Former Teacher Returns Kevin Bell '92 has returned to Louisiana School as an R.A. in Prudhomme Hall. Anita DeRouen, class of 1987, has joined the Admissions staff. Also, for all you older gifties, Martha Kay (Talbert) Smiley has returned to LSMSA as the Director of Academic Affairs. She is (of course) teaching a claculus class. She will still be running the ADVANCE Program for Young Scholars from LSMSA. ------------------------------------------------------------------------