As announced in the last issue, the Spring number of the MP will be concerned primarily with the question of the upcoming vote on a constitutional amendment to abolish the Board of Regents and the Commissioner's office and make the Montana University System a department within state government.
Under the guest editorship of Prof. Jack Jelinski (Modern Languages and Literatures, MSU-Bozeman), the work is coming along very nicely. A number of excellent articles are already in hand and others are on the way. We think these contributions will explore the alternatives thoroughly. However, in the opinion of the editors, the coverage could be even stronger if there were more direct participation by other faculty members in the system. Rank and file faculty members are in a good position to evaluate how the Board of Regents has performed in the past and to assess the possibilities for the future. The insights thoughtful faculty members have developed are very valuable and ought to be shared. Therefore, we once again urge our readers to write letters to the editor on any aspect of the constitutional question. Although we may take a position in the next issue, we will gladly publish letters in support of either a yes or a no vote on the amendment.
There are those who feel the issue is virtually settled, that in the climate in this state just now, it is a certainty that the voters will vote to amend the constitution. We think it a mistake to come to such a conclusion. The issue is still open. When our spring issue appears, the campaign will be well along but there will still be opportunity to use your influence both within the MUS and among our other readers.