By Caroline King
Staff Writer
Student Government introduced one bill and voted on four others at its fifth meeting of the year on Oct. 2 in the Education Building room 115.
The meeting started with an announcement of a treasured staff member’s eventual departure.
Don Trahan, the Director of Institutional Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, will be leaving the College. His last day will be Friday, Oct. 18.
“I want to continue to work with you in any capacity as it pertains to diversity, equity and inclusion,” Trahan said to the general body.
He continued by saying he is relocating to Washington, D.C., and that his departure is “not goodbye, but see you later.”
SG followed Trahan’s announcement by bringing forth a new bill, making it the only New Business for that week’s meeting.
B-F2019-11, named the Attire Bill, and was brought forth to “ensure that members of the student government are presenting themselves in a manner that is conducive to the nature of their responsibilities and position,” the bill’s description stated.
It was noted that this bill does not require any particular dress code, but would simply put forth the need for SG members to dress in an appropriate and professional way when carrying out their duties.
Following the meeting’s only resolution introduction, bills that were introduced at the prior meeting were brought to a vote in the general body.
Bill B-F2019-06, Mandating Special Elections, states that “in the event that a cabinet position becomes vacant by resignation, impeachment, or any other means, the President of SG will have the power to appoint a suitable individual to the position through an application process, with the exception of the Student Trustees.”
The bill was called to vote, and passed.
The next bill, B-F2019-07, Equitable Senator Cohort Positions, would change the model for which senator cohort positions are determined. Currently, the senators from each school are determined by the school’s population.
The bill would change the population-based model to be a more static number based on three tiers of school sizes. Smaller schools like the School of Nursing would get six senators, mid-size schools like the School of Arts & Communication would get seven and larger schools like the School of Business would get eight.
This attempt to make the senator cohort positions more equitable was questioned by some, as it was argued during an open debate that there was still room for an even more equitable approach.
Following an open debate, with two members stating pros and another two stating the cons, the bill was voted on and failed to pass.
The final two bills, B-F2019-09, Judiciary Board and Recall Proceedings, and B-F2019-10, Membership Accountability, passed, the latter with an 80-percent approval.
Both bills had been brought forth and voted on before, with amendments made to be able to bring the bills back to the floor for a vote.
