Laure M. Conrad
Assistant Editor
Senate passed two new bills,
and tabled a resolution on Tuesday, declining to make a decision on it
until the week following Spring Break.
The resolution was brought to Senate by Andra French, Student Body President,
and Cabinet, and if passed, would amend the constitution's current policies
on voting. French proposed in the resolution that presidents of student
organizations should be decided upon by that organization rather than
the student body as a whole, citing a lack of knowledge about the organizations,
as well as a lack of involvement in elections.
"I'd call it big," Nathan Carson, President of Senate, said,
"because it affects students now and to come, and the way our elections
are carried out, as well as voting."
Under the resolution, which sparked debate amongst Senate members, students
would still vote on positions such as Student Body President, Secretary
of Elections, Council of Student Organizations (CSO) officers, and senators,
but would no longer vote on offices such as Senate President, Student
Alumni Council President, or President of CSO.
When the resolution was voted on by members of Senate, seven voted to
table the resolution, seven to veto, and one abstained. As a result, the
decision was left to Carson, who decided to table the issue for now.
"I decided to table it because we had two sides, one to veto and
one to look at other options. I felt tabling it for the next meeting would
give time to one side to find information for other ideas, but would still
give the other side the chance to veto," Carson said.
There were also two significant bills that were passed, both unanimously.
The first was a bill to change the current meal plan options from the
number of meals per week to the number of meals per semester, thus allowing
students the chance to carry their meals over from week to week. The second
bill that was passed proposed that students be allowed the ability to
swipe their meal cards more than once per meal, so that they could buy
friends or family meals as well. These bills will now go on to Cabinet,
followed by the administration, to be decided upon.
Have an opinion on the Election of
Organization Presidents resolution? The Trail Blazer will be conducting
a poll on the matter in the next issue!
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