Senate Bill 5 protesters left in a huff during yesterday’s Student Senate meeting — and they had every reason to do so.
On Sept. 28, State and Federal Affairs Commissioner Taylor Abbott proposed a resolution condemning the wording of SB 5 — a request that was denied. Before yesterday’s meeting, senate failed to add the possible resolution to the agenda after two weeks of attendees’ vocal support of Abbott’s initial proposal.
For a resolution to be placed on the agenda, it has to be approved by President Kyle Triplett or by a two-thirds vote. Triplett initially asked that senate be provided more information on the bill before he would place it on the agenda. A presentation about the impact the anti-collective-bargaining law would have on campus was given to senate last week.
But yesterday, Triplett refused to place the resolution on the agenda for a third consecutive week, and the resolution’s backers failed to secure enough votes to do so themselves.
Outraged at the senate’s inaction, Vice Commissioner of State and Federal Affairs Shannon Welch approached Vice President Roger Jones after the meeting and announced her resignation.
A significant segment of students have been vocal in their opposition to SB 5. Whether they’re writing letters to news outlets, protesting throughout campus or holding signs at senate’s weekly meetings, it’s hard to escape the outcry. Yet some senate members continues to turn a blind eye to the people who placed them in their positions.
How can senate claim to have students’ best interests at heart if it’s going to refuse to address an issue they clearly care about?
Time and time again, senate invites its constituents to come to its meetings and let their voices be heard. Those students against SB 5 have been playing by senate’s rules and continue to have their pleas fall on deaf ears.
With the persistent protest of the past few weeks, it’s time senate stop giving students the cold shoulder and add an SB 5 resolution to its agenda. It’s not about what the executives feel is appropriate for senate to discuss; it’s about what students want senate to discuss.
We’re not saying senate should condemn SB 5 — that’s a decision for the elected body. But by refusing to allow the proposed resolution to even reach the floor for debate, senate is stifling student expression and ignoring the will of a vocal segment of its constituency.
Why not let the proposed resolution reach the floor? The outcome of the resolution doesn’t matter — if senators feel strongly that the senate has no place weighing in on what is seen as a partisan political issue, the resolution will fail — but what does matter is that the senate is responsive to the requests of the students who it represents.
In the end, Student Senate should vote on the resolution because — whether it is passed or defeated — that is what the students are requesting.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post’s executive editors
