The Southern Utah University Student Senate held their biweekly meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 14, in the Starlight Room. Those in attendance voiced opinions and listened as the Senate discussed plans for the student body and the school.
A motion to recognize the SUU Cyber Security Club for taking third place nationally in the Hack the Building 2.0 competition began the meeting.
The next item brought to the table was the proposal to allocate funds to the College of Engineering and Computational Sciences for their Christmas social. Engineering Senator McKay Fausett, as a sponsor, stated that it was in the best interest of the students of the college to host this event, as it would give the chance to relax and de-stress before finals.
Education and Human Development Senator Parker Leppink spoke in objection, stating that the amount requested was too much and would set a bad precedent moving forward. Fausett explained that the event would be open to all students, not just those in the specific college.
College of Natural Sciences Senator Om Mehta moved to amend the bill with a provision that Fausett would deliver an itemized list of items purchased for the event, which was passed unanimously. Fausett voiced a concern that advertising the event to the entire student body could cause the resources to dwindle too quickly. Vice President of Academics Alexis Mciff spoke in support of the bill, saying it helped forward an initiative to put on more department and college-specific events.
The bill was opened up to public comment after Student Body President Carson Brown stated that he would be willing to open the party up to collaboration with the Student Programming Board. Brown also urged the Senate to invite the entire student body to the event, while a student encouraged them to consider different avenues of marketing the event.
Senator Leppink motioned to amend, wanting any funds not used for the event to be returned. Again, the motion passed unanimously.
Non-traditional Representative Jami Logan-Yetter motioned for another amendment, stating that the event would be marketed to everyone, and with no dissenting votes, the amendment passed.
After the debate, the bill was voted on, passing with the support of the entire Senate.
The next item on the agenda was a bill regarding an update for the new finance policy, which was passed in their previous meeting. The changes include that all independent student clubs with events funded through the Southern Utah University Student Association Finance Committee must be open to all students and that individual students would no longer be able to request funding through them.
The last item of business was the HOPE Pantry, which asked for an additional $7,000 of funding due to an increase in use from the student body. Senator Brooklyn Harrison, who sponsored the bill, spoke on how the resources the pantry offers help increase student retention and success. The floor was opened to public comment, where the concern was raised about the lack of gluten-free and vegan options, and it was asked that a potential amendment be made that a portion of the funds be dedicated to getting these options. A motion to amend was made by International Representative Alejandro Falcón Blengeri that $500 would be used specifically for these options. The amendment passed unanimously. Following the comment, the bill was voted on and passed without any dissent.
When asked about her thoughts on the meeting, Humanities and Social Science Senator Hanna Muzquiz said, “I’ve always admired the way that we’re able to disagree and agree with each other in civil ways.”
The senate’s next meeting will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 5, at 5 p.m. in the Starlight Room.
Story: Aidan Mortensen
Photo courtesy of SUU Student Life
Editor: Chevy Blackburn
