At the latest Senate meeting, 11 pieces of legislation were discussed that included resolutions supporting a town hall meeting, condemning racism and intolerance at the University, a bill creating “a new and spirit governing document” for the Senate, a resolution supporting the “Hope after the Hurricane” relief effort and much more.
One of the more noteworthy pieces of legislation discussed was R-22, which focuses on “supporting a town hall meeting,” according to its title. The resolution’s author Ronnie Hill, a senior majoring in civil engineering, said he had the idea for the town hall over the summer while interning for a company in Virginia and hearing about various instances of police brutality. Hill said when he came back to the University and began to put the event together, and soon discovered that Lee DeVance, the head of the University’s National Society of Black Engineers, had already put the event together and reached out to the University of Alabama Police Department, Tuscaloosa Police Department and other to be a part of it. Hill said the meeting will cover topics like police brutality, but most discussion will be audience-driven.
“I want to give students and faculty and anybody else open to it, in the city and whoever, a safe place where we can discuss this with police officials to try to come to a agreement on some things,” he said.
Ultimately, Senate passed the resolution.
In addition, Gonzalo Rodriguez put forth a resolution condemning racism and intolerance at the University. The resolution comes after a student was suspended and removed from campus for racially-specify threats towards others on social media. Rodriguez’s resolution notes that the 21st Senate of the University’s Student Government Association does not support any kind of racism and condemns any threats and forms of violence. In addition, the resolution called for the University to “take the necessary disciplinary actions to send a clear message that racism and intolerance are not welcome at The University of Alabama.” The resolution was passed soon after its introduction.
Another noteworthy piece of legislation –– and by far the longest –– is Speaker of the Senate Lance McCaskey and Senate Chief of Staff Michael Cervino’s Senate rules and regulations bill. The bill, a walloping 32 pages long, deals with amending the SGA Code of Laws and creating a separate governing document for the Senate. When asked why he felt the Senate needed a separate governing document, McCaskey, a junior majoring in economics, said it is necessary to keep the Code of Laws as a structural document.
“I think that is important for [the Senate] because it keeps us accountable for our own procedures and it would [be] a document that’s amenable only by the Senate,” he said.
The bill was sent to the Rules Committee for review. The Crimson White will have more on this legislation in the near future.
Finally, Resolution 25 was introduced, which supports “the ‘Hope after the Hurricane campaign for Hurricane Matthew relief,” according to its title. The resolution states that “Hope after the Hurricane” is a student-led campaign that is working with the Red Cross to raise money and awareness for relief efforts in wake of the deadly category 4 hurricane. In addition, the resolution states that the Senate supports the campaign’s efforts. The resolution was quickly passed.
Order of Events:
1.) Swearing in ceremony for the two newest senators Rob Grady and Darby McQueen.
2.) Dalton Beasley, the SGA’s vice president for student affairs, discussed an upcoming mental health forum for which he is looking for students to be panel speakers. Those interested can email Beasley.
3.) The first student to utilize Lita Waggoner’s bill allowing students to voice concerns to the Senate spoke about the crosswalk near Lakeside Dinning Hall and how it was constantly malfunctioning. He said it has since been fixed, and it is issues like this that students truly care about.
4.) A-09 to create a pay scale introduced, sent to the Finance Committee after a question was raised about a potential miscalculation.
5.) A-10 to “approve organizational funding requests suggested by the financial affairs committee for the month of 2016, and for other purposes,” introduced, passed.
6.) R-14 encouraging in-class election day reminders reintroduced, tabled in order to wait to hear from the Faculty Senate.
7.) R-19 encouraging the University to loosen meal plan requirements due to dietary restrictions introduced, sent to the Student Affairs Committee.
8.) R-20 supporting a new building for the Mallet Assembly introduced, tabled indefinitely.
9.) R-21 applauding and thanking the homecoming committee introduced, passed.
10.) B-08 to amend the SGA Code of Laws and create a new and separate governing document for the Senate introduced, sent to the Rules Committee.
11.) R-22 supporting a town hall meeting introduced, passed.
12.) R-23 calling for “adherence to the SGA Constitutional grants of power,” introduced, sent to the Resolutions Committee.
13.) R-24 condemning racism and intolerance at the University introduced, passed.
14.) R-25 supporting the “Hope after the Hurricane” relief effort introduced, passed.
