At the Student Government Association Senate meeting Feb. 21, the Senate approved several changes to its constitution and bylaws in a 42-2-2 vote.
As stipulated under the revised documents, a five-member ad hoc markup committee will help revise a bill or a resolution if its author and the executive vice president cannot agree on how to edit it.
The bylaws were also revised to grant the executive vice president the power to extend or limit open forum discussions as he or she sees fit.
“This validates the powers the executive vice president has already,” said SGA Executive Vice President Connor O’Donnell. “It just puts them in the context of the open forum.”
During open forum, the Senate will only hear presentations by undergraduate students. However, faculty and staff may present during open forum if they are an adviser representing the viewpoints of the organization they advise.
The Senate appointed a New Student Organization seat, as well.
Rex Waters, associate dean of students, addressed the Senate about student tailgating at athletic games. He said the university would like to create an environment better suited to student preferences.
“We want to look at a way to create a vibrant atmosphere on game day to attract fans on a community level, but especially on the student level,” Waters said. “We need something that is going to be attractive to the student body and all the constituents of the university. We want input, and there is going to be continued work and the opportunity to respond to plans as they develop.”
He asked the senators to talk to their constituents about how to improve the tailgating atmosphere.
“We have a wonderful tradition of athletics at the university, and we’re looking forward to the next version of that,” he said. “We need a fan base. We need a thriving audience on game day.”
Jonathan Miller, assistant athletics director, presented several possible tailgating locations, including Harper Lot and the area surrounding Rudd Field.
He then asked the senators for suggestions on how to improve the tailgating atmosphere. Several senators agreed the process to acquire a tent is too tedious. They proposed a process to register a tent in a certain location for the entire season.
“Consistency is something that needs to be addressed,” said SGA Executive President Darien Flowers. “If organizations that have the opportunity to say ‘We’re going to have this spot,’ that would build consistency and encourage students to come out.”
Smith Jackson, vice president of Student Life, informed the Senate of several upcoming changes to the university’s health care center. He said the university is planning to build a new health and wellness center on South Campus next year.
He acknowledged the current facility is too small and student wait lines are too long.
“We’re going to switch to an online reservation system,” he said. “That will speed up the process.”
In his president’s report, Flowers commented on the use of social media to share and discuss The Pendulum’s recent staff editorial regarding the leadership of the university’s administration. He reminded the senators that the SGA is the most appropriate forum in which to address comments or concerns, and he affirmed the SGA’s support of the administration.
The Senate then voted to allocate money to help purchase new science equipment to aid student undergraduate research.
“I really like that there’s an academic component to this allocation,” said Greg Zitelli, junior class senator. “It’s nice that we are giving students to tools to continue their research.”
The Senate also voted to allocate money to fund three students’ costs of travel to a Model United Nations conference in Turkey, the publication of a student-written book on reverse culture shock, and the travel costs of the College Republicans organization.
In other news, the mail center is considering implementing a text-message and email alert system to inform students when packages arrive.