After an election in which voters seldom heard about anything other than the declassification of course evaluations, the Student Assembly (S.A.) has thrown us a curveball. Last Thursday, they spent the afternoon debating S.A. Resolution 29, which urges state and federal representatives to pressure "Iran [and] any other state sponsor of terror to stop their support of international terror organizations [and] the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."

We can't stop but scratch our heads and wonder why the S.A. has made this part of their agenda.

We are unclear about what part of a campus election makes the Student Assembly qualified to weigh in on national issues. Iranian nuclear development is an issue being tackled by some of the best political minds in the world right now and none of them are turning to Cornell undergraduates for help. Simply put, it's not the S.A.'s place - can you imagine Congress passing a resolution about the Student Activity Fee?

One rationale for the resolution is that it can be used as a platform for local politicians to speak up. If number 29 passes, the reasoning goes, Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-22nd) can use it as evidence that a tremendous portion of his constituency is against Iranian possession of nuclear weapons.

What is the S.A. is hoping to accomplish? Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not listening to the United Nations; is he really going to ask Tim Lim '06 for his opinion?

S.A. representatives were not elected for their outside-of-Cornell political beliefs. Typical S.A. campaign promises include eliminating NetPrint fees, making gyms available to all students and altering the hours of operation for dining halls. Candidates' affiliation with groups like the Cornell Democrats, Cornell Israel Public Affairs Committee (CIPAC) or Cornell for Peace and Justice rarely get taken into account when voting for a College of Human Ecology representative.

Moreover, the management of global nuclear proliferation is not what they were elected to do. NetPrint, the declassification of course evaluations and the collegiate readership program are all important to Cornellians, but unlike matters of national security, they are items that will only by addressed by the S.A.

In the process of diverting their attention from local issues to international ones, the S.A. has diverted the attention of the rest of campus from the debate over whether Iran should be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon. Instead, campus buzz now focuses on whether this should fall within the S.A.'s jurisdiction. The debate has become about the wrong thing.

And when opponents to Res. 29 voice dissent, they complain more about the forum than the content. Groups such as the Iranian Students Organization say that they are against the resolution because they disagree with the Student Assembly discussing matters of foreign policy. Proponents of Res. 29 believe the "role of the S.A." argument to be a thinly veiled cover for conflict with the opinion of the resolution.

A far more effective method of displaying student concern for Iranian nuclear development would be for S.A. members to each go back to their respective constituencies and have them sign a petition similar to the resolution.

A petition would effectually kill two birds with one stone. On one hand, it would speak for a much larger segment of the student population than would a "sense of the body" resolution. On the other, it would weed out which dissenters were sincerely complaining on grounds of medium and which were using medium as a convenient excuse when they were actually against the judgments made in the resolution.

In fact, we would support this petition to the extent that, if the S.A. were able to collect enough signatures to truly represent the Cornell community, we would happily publish the names of all signatories in Friday's Sun.

Last night, CIPAC got off to a head start on the campaign. Beginning with campus leaders, particularly of the groups who claimed discomfort on the grounds of the S.A.'s scope, CIPAC President Justin Weitz '07 petitioned to get signatures condemning terrorism, Holocaust denial and nuclear proliferation. We commend this effort.

In the meantime, Resolution 29 should be tabled. Next up, Resolution 30. It should call for the S.A. to stick to its job and exclusively address local issues. Their job was never to deal with macropolitical ones. If people want the Cornell community to take a moral stance, there are more constructive ways to do it. The petition is a step in the right direction. Focusing on R.A.s instead of Iranians is what the S.A. ought to do.

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