A recently inaugurated Nicole Bohannon began her job as Executive Vice President Thursday night, calling to order a meeting of a new SGA Senate in the Ferguson Forum. New Senators packed the room, and began their terms by approving an FAC Meeting report.
The Senate approved funding for almost all organizations that requested money, only tabling six until a later meeting. The tabling denotes that a representative of the organization didn’t appear at the meeting to present a case for funding.
Of the 16 organizations that requested funds from the SGA, six received an amount equal to that of their original request. The Institute of Industrial Engineers procured more funding than originally requested, having asked for $600 and receiving $800. According to the report, the organization didn’t know they could acquire up to $400 per person for travel purposes, and the Institute plans to send 2 students on a trip.
Crimson Tennis won biggest financially, acquiring $1,930—all of their original request—for “tennis balls and travel to matches.” The African American Gospel Choir received the smallest percentage of their original request, which stood at $739.50, acquiring only $200.
Once the FAC report passed, Bohannon moved the Senators into a time of instruction and, essentially, an information session on the ins and outs of creating legislation.
“I’m so excited about the new class of Senators,” Bohannon stated after the meeting. “They have great ideas, are very ambitious, and are very knowledgeable about the campus currently.”
Several new Senators also expressed excitement at the start of a new term. Senator Tyler Rigdon, a rising sophomore representing the College of Engineering, echoed Bohannon’s sentiments and looked to his future legislative style.
“I’m letting the ideas come to me. I think if you pursue ideas, then you waste a lot of time and effort in what you put into resolutions,” Rigdon said. “I’m going to see what people tell me, what kind of feedback I get from the people in College of Engineering, and then go from there, and see if there’s anything that comes to me.”
Senator Ebony Smith, a rising senior representing the College of Arts and Sciences, looked ahead to specific initiatives she wants to implement. “Right now, I want to work with the Crimson White to get a leaflet inside the paper every month, saying things that the SGA is working on,” Smith noted.
“I’m actually a member of the Campus Health and Safety Committee within Senate,” Smith mentioned. “I want to work on lighting up areas and getting some more bike lanes where there aren’t any now.”
Vice President Bohannon also pointed to specific initiatives she anticipates Senate to pass in the near future. “A lot of ideas have come up about increasing transparency,” she said. “To address that, the first thing I’ve done is that we have someone who will be videoing every meeting, similar to something you’d see on C-SPAN.”
“Those will be filmed on Thursdays and put online on Fridays, so anyone who wants to see what Senate is actually doing can get online and hear the debate themselves,” Bohannon elaborated.
“There have been lots of other ideas,” she concluded. “So, we’re excited to pursue some of those.”
