Senate will vote on three resolutions that would amend its constitution. If passed, the resolutions would add a referenda system of voting, no longer require amendments to be approved by the Board of Trustees and clarify the constitution's wording.
Ohio University's Student Senate hasn’t amended its constitution since 1998.
But at Wednesday night’s meeting, senate will vote on three resolutions that would amend its constitution. If passed, the resolutions would add a referenda system of voting, no longer require amendments to be approved by the Board of Trustees and clarify the constitution's wording.
A total of 11 resolutions will be brought to senate at its general body meeting this week.
Amendments to senate's constitution
Student Senate President Gabby Bacha said the resolutions amending the constitution are “groundbreaking” for the body.
“I think this meeting is really showing all the work we’ve been putting in since the beginning of this semester,” Bacha said. “It’s all happening at once, but it’s very exciting.”
The resolution that would add a referenda system of voting was originally tabled at the Jan. 27 meeting. It has since been revised after senate members were polled this past week on how they thought the referendum should be structured and if there should be a referenda system at all.
The referenda system would poll students on certain resolutions when Student Senate wants student input. The poll then would be translated into actual senate votes.
The poll showed 88 percent of the body is in favor of a referenda system, and 90 percent wanted the percentage of the votes from the student body to equal the percentage of the senate vote, Courteney Muhl, the sponsor of the resolution, said.
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Also, 62 percent of senate members wanted the student body votes to be a proportion based on the number of students who voted in the referendum, Muhl, the College of Health Sciences and Professions senator, said.
The resolution was rewritten and restructured with that criteria in mind, Muhl said.
“We’re hopeful that since the senate as a whole overwhelmingly voted for each of the different structures that exist in this referenda that they’ll be willing to see it in a positive mindset and that they’ll pass it through,” she said.
Changes to senate’s constitution must be approved by a student body vote and by OU's Board of Trustees.
However, senate will be voting on a resolution that would mean the board would no longer need to approve constitutional amendments.
Landen Lama, chair of the Rules and Procedures Committee, said if the resolution passes, it will make the senate’s process easier and more transparent.
The third resolution for a constitutional amendment would change the constitution's wording to say semesters instead of quarters. OU switched to semesters nearly four years ago, in 2012.
“Our constitution still says ‘quarters,' ” Lama said. “We don’t operate under a quarter system. We can’t expect our senators to come back and govern quarterly why everyone might not be here.”
Other resolutions include extending Alden Library's hours
Beyond the three resolutions that will amend the constitution, senate will vote on eight other resolutions, including a resolution regarding the hours in Alden Library. The resolution, if passed, will request the fourth floor of the library extend its hours.
Carolyn Miller, the sponsor of the resolution, said her project this semester is to help with changes to the library and has taken input from many different students about ways to make the library better.
“(Student Senate is) supposed to represent to the administration what students really need,” Miller, an at-large senator, said. “This is us making this big announcement, this is what the students of this school want and need, and this is something that is going to help our education and help this school to be better.”
Additionally, the body will vote on paying for delegates to attend an Ohio Student Government Association Conference, purchasing a white noise machine for Students Defending Students, specifying that there will be two appointed delegates on the Environmental Affairs Commission, amending the attendance policy, creating a position within the Conduct and Discipline Committee and appointing Abby Koehl to the open seat of Women’s Affairs senator.
At Wednesday night’s meeting, the body will also hear a presentation from OU administrator Anna Casteel on student health insurance and Board of Trustees meeting updates from student trustees Sharmaine Wilcox and P.J. Roden.
Upcoming elections
Applications to run for elected senate positions are now available on Student Senate’s OrgSync portal and are due Feb. 26, according to an email from Bacha to the student body.
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Muhl said she is very excited to see what happens in the spring.
“Now that they’re open I suppose they’ll be on everyone’s minds,” Muhl said. “I think we are all very excited to see who will step up and try to take new leadership roles next year.”
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