The SGA Senate approved old and new resolutions on Thursday, including encouraging the University to improve maternity facilities, increase mental health resources and provide anti-choking devices in dining halls.
In light of the increasing national suicide rate, Sen. Autumn Pernell for the College of Arts and Sciences authored an act to put mental health resource flyers outside of resident advisors’ doors in dorms across campus. According to USAFacts, the 2022 suicide rate in Alabama marked a 43% increase over the last 20 years.
“Whether an advisor is at home to help them out or not, it is important that residents have access to important information, especially if they are having a mental health crisis,” Pernell said.
This act passed, meaning that they SGA will design a flyer with resources such as the University Counseling Center, 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, and other on-campus and online organizations. Additionally, a new resolution to add human trafficking awareness education to RA summer training was approved.
A resolution to provide LifeVac anti-choking devices in the University’s dining halls authored by John Michael Chandash, senator for the College of Arts and Sciences, also passed. The resolution calls for installation of LifeVac devices in University dining areas and promotes its use across the rest of campus.
“Over 3,300 lives have been saved in the past eight years, and something really remarkable about this product is that it’s never failed,” Chandash said. “It is only around $20, so we are going to start with UA dining halls and hopefully expand to housing facilities in the future.”
The Senate also passed a resolution to improve the recreational amenities of the Julia Tutwiler Fitness Center, authored by Chandash and Hannon Bulger, a senator for the College of Human Environmental Sciences. A survey was sent out to Tutwiler residents to assess the need. Over 300 responses were received, with 99.7% of respondents saying they approved of the resolution and 88.4% saying that the current equipment was not adequate.
Resolutions were also passed regarding Secretary of the Senate responsibilities, changing the SGA code of laws for the financial affairs committee and establishing an SGA stipend for the coming year.
Added to the secretary’s duties were maintenance of the Senate Instagram and management of the SGA Senate outreach surveys. The Financial Affairs Committee members are no longer required to attend meetings in-person beginning in the fall semester.
