The Accountability and Reform Amendment to the GUSA constitution passed by a large majority in the campus-wide online vote last Thursday, marking a decisive victory for the Student Association on an amendment slated to reform the organization and its practices from the inside out.

With a total voter turnout of 3,554 students, or 55 percent of the student body, the Election Accountability and Reform amendment received 3,082 votes in its favor, giving the amendment a healthy surplus over the minimum number of votes it needed to become a permanent part of the GUSA constitution (the amendment required at least one-quarter of the student population to vote in favor for it to pass). GUSA should be congratulated for a job well done on this referendum; its success in getting this amendment passed may signal a turnaround for an organization which has in the past been beleaguered by ineffectiveness and regarded with apathy by many students.

In a cleverly strategic move that doubtless increased voter turnout, GUSA also linked the amendment vote to a non-binding referendum on the Disciplinary Review Committee’s proposed keg ban, thus luring otherwise apathetic students to the polls by connecting the amendment vote to an issue about which many students have an opinion: alcohol consumption on campus. The amendment vote and associated GUSA reforms were also publicized on Facebook in the days leading up to the vote, and on Thursday GUSA members were out in full force, tabling with laptops in many locations around campus.

Regardless of the tactics used to entice students to the polls, the fact that GUSA was able to mobilize 55 percent of the student body speaks volumes. The success of this vote adds a much-needed legitimacy to the organization and attests to the reform efforts undertaken by its current administration.

But while Thursday’s success should be seen, at least tentatively, as a sign of GUSA’s strengthened position within the student body, GUSA must not become complacent with the triumph and again devolve into unproductive, inefficient and self-congratulatory behavior.

With the amendment’s passage, it remains now for GUSA to prove itself and live up to the expectations of the 55 percent of the student body that went online and voted. The Amendment called for student body elections to be held within the next three weeks, and the upcoming GUSA Senate elections, in which 35 senators will be elected based on where they live, provide GUSA with a perfect opportunity to further engage student involvement. Such student involvement is more necessary than ever now that GUSA, under the amendment, has greater control over funds for student activities, including the Student Activities Fee.

The passage of the Accountability and Reform Amendment must be viewed not as a completed end goal, but as a starting point for a more transparent, better organized and more engaged GUSA that truly represents the voice of the students instead of just the interests of the students who run it. A vibrant, active and representative student association can provide an indispensable voice in a diverse, intelligent and aware study body. Plus, Chicken Madness just can’t live in 35 places at once.