The majority of student observers showed up to support the Spirit of Alabama Act, proposed by Senator Patrick Fitzgerald, a sophomore majoring in international marketing. However, the Senate Rules Committee tabled the act to gauge support from the University of Alabama Board of Trustees.
The proposed Spirit of Alabama Act would raise approximately $900,000 to reinvest in the student body, providing services to students as well as an on-campus concert sponsored by the SGA.
“There were a lot of people in here, but that’s good to see everybody come in and appreciate what’s going on,” said Speaker of the Senate Branden Greenberg. “That’s great, that’s ideal. They actually care and want to hear what’s going on. That means a lot to the senators.”
Tensions rose over discussion about the Spirit of Alabama Act so much that one unidentified man was asked to leave the room because of his behavior.
“I feel like the Senate is a very respectable place and we need to be a little more careful with how we choose to carry ourselves,” said Senator Andrew Cicero, a junior majoring in business. “I appreciate the emotion … I love that there were a ton of students here, but I feel like we need to maintain that the Senate is one of the most honorable things that you can do.”
Aside from the Spirit of Alabama Act, senators discussed several other pieces of legislation during the meeting. A resolution to alter the class registration process was tabled and the town hall meeting resolution from last week was passed unanimously.
Senators also introduced two new resolutions this week. One proposes that SGA members who have served at least one year be recognized at their graduation.
The other resolution proposes that The University of Alabama begin using open educational resources. OERs would give students access to free online textbooks and could save the student body money in textbook expenses.
After the meeting, Fitzgerald gave a speech outside of the forum to express his commitment to the students for the Spirit of Alabama Act.
“I don’t know if this is going to hit the floor next week,” he said. “I don’t know if it will hit the floor the week after, but I assure you of this: Nobody is going to fight harder for this to hit the floor as soon as possible. We’ve already got endorsements from statewide organizations.”
