Short version
The “UDG” thurnage reform is proposed to the vote of the normalians between June 19 and 26.
The vote will take place entirely online (the link will be sent at the opening of the ballot), using the Condorcet-Schulze method.
Four variants of the UDG reform, presented by the Special Delegation, are proposed (numbered A1 to A4). Two other options retain the current system (R1 and R2).
The six options, which you should rank according to your preference (or tie), are as follows:
- A1: Adopt the UDG reform with boost and Trumps “in dribs and drabs”
- A2: Adopt the UDG reform with boost and Trumps in one shot.
- A3: Adopt the UDG reform without boost and with Trumps “in dribs and drabs”
- A4: Adopt the UDG reform without boost and with Trumps in one shot
- R1: Keep the current system and add an obligation for the DG to publish and/or update a short and clear information bulletin on thurnage, at least one month before the TG
- R2: I oppose the proposed changes
Options A1 to A4 allow for the adoption of the proposed reform for TG 2022, and R1 reject it.
The following picture (in French, sorry) succinctly summarizes the options and the voting system (click here to zoom) :
All normalians in school and on gap year (élèves, étudiants, international selection) can vote, except for those on outgoing gap year.
For more information on each variant and on the voting methods, you can read the long version and the communications from the DS in the coming days. Replies to frequently asked questions (FAQ) are availables here.
The DG and the DS
Long version
The "UDG" reform is a proposal for a major modification of the thurnage system.
Initiated by the General Delegation in 2020, it is the result of a long reflection, carried out by a dozen normalien-ne-s (working group and then special delegation on the reform of thurnage). After two votes by the General Assembly (in November 2020 and March 2021) to deepen the work in view of a referendum, the project is finalized and ready to be submitted to the vote.
The proposed reform profoundly modifies the functioning of the thurnage. It is based on the attribution to each person of a unit of account, the DG unit (UDG), which represents rights to housing. Spending one UDG gives the guarantee of getting a thurne on the evening of the TG, while spending less than one UDG represents the expected chances of getting a thurne (0.5 UDG corresponds to a 50% chance of getting a thurne, for example). The number of UDG available is updated every year according to the number of thurns. A second unit, the assets, then allows to rank the persons obtaining a thurne to determine the order of choice.
The proposed system therefore breaks with the current one, in which the consequences of the same bet depend on the years (betting a joker can currently allow or not to obtain a thurne at the TG depending on the year).
On June 9, the general assembly decided to submit six proposals to the referendum:
- A1: Adopt the UDG reform with boost and assets by the dropper.
- A2: Adopt the UDG reform with boost and benefits in one go
- A3: Adopt the UDG reform without boost and with assets in a piecemeal fashion
- A4: Adopt the UDG reform without boost and with assets at once
- R1: Keep the current system and add an obligation for the DG to publish and/or update a short and clear information bulletin on thurnage, at least one month before the TG
- R2: I oppose the proposed changes
Options A1 to A4 involve adopting the UDG reform, with an effective date of the 2022 general thurn. These four options differ in two respects, namely:
- The rules for assigning trumps (a unit that allows one to advance in the ranking for the order of choice of one's thurne, but not in the ranking for whether or not one gets a thurne). These trumps could either be attributed only once (three trumps at the end of the conscription), or "in dribs and drabs", i.e. one trump per year (one at the beginning of the conscription, plus one before each TG).
- The existence or not of a "boost" system, which would make it possible to obtain an additional asset (and thus a better thurn) in exchange for the irreversible loss of all one's UDGs, i.e. a renunciation of thurnage for the future (except if the internship is not full).
Options R1 and R2 involve rejecting the UDG reform. In Option R1, the DG would have an additional obligation to communicate the information necessary to understand the thurnage system ("information bulletin"), an obligation that is not formalized today. In option R2, no changes would be made to the current rules of procedure.
If one of the options A1, A2, A3 or A4 is adopted, the thurnage rules would be completely rewritten. If Option R1 is adopted, an amendment to the current rules would be required. In all cases, these changes would be approved by vote early next year, to take effect in 2022.
The proposed voting system is the Condorcet-Schulze method. In this method, voters must rank options according to their preferences, with possible ties. There is no “useful vote”, and the fact that close options are proposed does not affect the result. It is therefore essential for everyone to vote according to their actual preferences. Examples of valid ballots might be:
- A1 = A2 > A3 = A4 > R1 > R2: for a person who wishes to adopt the reform, prefers in case of adoption that the boost be “in dribs and drabs”, has no preference on the allocation of Trumps, and in case of rejection prefers to add the information bulletin.
- A2 = A4 > R1 = R2 > A1 = A3: for a person who accepts the reform only if the Trumps are attributed in dribs and drabs, and is indifferent on the question of the boost and the information bulletin.
- R2 > R1 > A1 = A2 > A3 = A4: for a person who prefers not to change anything, or either to reject the reform and implements the information bulletin, and who prefers the variants with boost if the reform is adopted.
This summary document gives a brief overview of the list of options and the voting system (in French only, sorry).
Please, vote!
The Délégation Générale : Jan, Clémence, Ryan, Julien
The Délégation spéciale : Julie-Maï, Juliette, Mattéo, Nicolas, Sayah, Valentin
