The average student took a step toward the Vanderbilt Student Government presidency Wednesday.

The senate unanimously approved a resolution that would eliminate the experience requirement and allow any undergraduate to lead the organization.

The house will consider the resolution Wednesday at its meeting.

The experience requirement states that the student body president must have served one year in VSG and must have served during the semester of his or her election for at least 30 days before declaring his or her candidacy.

Currey Hall President Ashley Williamson and Kyle Larson, Tower II president, plan to speak against the bill in the house but do not know if their opposition will be enough.

"This will probably pass the house, maybe unanimously, because it passed the senate unanimously, but 75 percent of us will leave and have no idea what we voted for," Williamson said.

Speaker of the House Reid Simon invited students in a campus-wide e-mail to attend a Thursday forum on the requirement, but no students came to the meeting.

If it passes the house, the student body will vote Feb. 19 to approve the change.

The resolution proposed by senators Fabiani Duarte and Wyatt Smith notes that the VSG constitution considers each undergraduate a member of the organization, Smith said.

Smith also pointed out that the requirement leaves just 45-75 undergraduates eligible for the presidency, a condition that Engineering senator Matt Snyder said "goes against the idea of democracy."

And the requirement makes it difficult, though not impossible, for even dedicated VSG members who go abroad in the fall semester to remain eligible.

"The candidate could join a committee at the conclusion of his or her study abroad semester and hold that position through winter break in order to satisfy the 30-day requirement," said attorney general Andrew Gossett. "This membership on said committee would have to be approved by the committee chairs, but in theory, it is possible."

The senate felt this difficulty was just one of several reasons to pass the resolution.

"Students at Vanderbilt are fully capable of choosing the best person to represent them," Smith said, pointing out that the Student Government Association did not have an experience requirement when it existed.

Many senators concluded other students could make effective VSG presidents, though the job does require a lot of time and effort.

"Who's to say that the VUCept president or some other campus leader doesn't have just as much, if not more, experience interacting with administrators and managing an organization than someone who has been involved with VSG for less than one hour a week?" said Arts and Science senator Alan Dyer.

However, Larson said time within the organization would help the candidate understand how to accomplish his or her goals and work with administrators and other VSG members.

If you get rid of the requirement, "you essentially elect a lame duck and wait for it to grow into one that can be effective," he said.

— Glenna DeRoy can be reached at glenna.h.deroy@vanderbilt.edu