Over the past few weeks, Student Government has been working diligently to address critical issues the university body faces. Halfway through summer, Student Government members began to implement legislation tackling COVID-19, Title IX protections, Packapalooza’s cancelation and supporting NC State’s minority groups.
According to Student Senate President Coleman Simpson, a second-year graduate student in Agricultural & Human Sciences, the summer meetings being held by Student Government over Zoom are labeled as emergency meetings, and are meant to tackle issues that will be prominent in the fall.
“We don’t normally do summer meetings,” Simpson said. “But because of COVID, the Title IX changes that recently rolled out and a lot of the things that are happening right now with racial climate and police brutality, I felt it was relevant for us to hold another meeting.”
On Wednesday, June 17, NC State Student Senate passed five legislative bills addressing multiple issues the university faced. One of these bills, the Institutional Support for Underrepresented Communities Act, aims to address some of the systemic issues Black students face on campus.
Student Body President Melanie Flowers, a fourth-year student studying communication with a concentration in public relations, talked about addressing racial injustice with Student Government.
“Student Government is typically a very white space, so that was a really important piece that we passed,” Flowers said. “The corresponding senator, Thomas Jackson, collaborated with the NAACP and other Black organizations to make sure it was reflecting their concerns as much as possible.”
Passed Legislation
The Institutional Support for Underrepresented Communities Act demands greater administrative support for Black students from university institutions, such as the Counseling Center, the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity and Student Health Services. The bill also calls for increased transparency from the NC State Police Department, improvements and additions to cultural awareness programs both inside and outside Diversity Week and the implementation of a task force in charge of renaming racist buildings on campus. Additionally, the bill highlights various instances where the university has failed its Black community and students had to advocate for change.
Two Title IX bills were also passed on Wednesday. These bills were meant to tackle controversial Title IX changes made by the U.S. Department of Education, such as lack of clear consent rules and the removal of the 60-day expedient investigation. The new rules and regulations offer greater protections for those accused of sexual assault, and has been met with criticism.
The Title IX Regulation Changes Response Act serves as Student Government’s formal renouncement of new Title IX changes, and supports a re-evaluation of those changes to further protect the rights of sexual assault survivors. It also calls for the student governments of the UNC system to join in solidarity.
The second bill, the Title IX at NC State Act, aims to tackle issues caused by the new Title IX Regulation changes, including continued support for investigations of sexual assault that happen off campus.
Legislation was also passed to address COVID-19 issues in the upcoming fall semester.
The COVID-19 Continuation Act calls for greater university flexibility according to student needs, such as laxer on-campus requirements for first years and increased academic protections for both undergraduate and graduate students. Increased academic protections include clearer policies protecting graduate students from non-consensual in-person teaching requirements and supporting accommodations in courses.
The Redistributing Packapalooza Funds Act reallocates Packapalooza’s funds towards student organizations and other initiatives. Currently, the bill does not specify which organizations and initiatives this includes.
Amongst these legislative changes, Student Government has continued to stay in contact with the student body over the summer. According to Flowers, Simpson and Student Body Treasurer Garrison Seitz, a fourth-year student in Civil Engineering, Student Government has been using social media as a means to educate students. Recently, Student Government created a mini-series educating students on Juneteenth and Black history and collaborated with East Carolina University’s student government to make an anti-racism statement.
“We’re actually meeting with UNC Chapel Hill to talk about a mental health initiative, I want to say, early next week,” Flowers said. “I’m also serving as the chair of the Student Body President for ASG [The UNC Association of Student Governments], so I do get to talk to the other student presidents a lot, and we’ve been communicating a lot of collaboration this year just given the circumstances. There are changes we did for NC State, but it’s even more powerful when all of the schools get together to push for change.”
As fall semester approaches, Student Government has also implemented internal changes to organize its transition to the university. According to Flowers, Simpson and Seitz, it isn’t confirmed whether meetings will happen online, but the Student Government Suite in Talley Student Union will continue to be open under social distancing guidelines.
“We want to remind everyone that while we might be separated, we’re still part of the Wolfpack community and we’re still trying to remain connected,” Simpson said. “There’s ways we can engage with each other at home or online, so we’re really pushing that over social media and encouraging students to the use the #ThinkAndDoAtHome hashtag at home so they can see what they’re doing and so we can repost stuff.”
For more information and updates, visit the Student Government website as well as their social media pages.
*Editor’s Note: Updated hashtag in quote for accuracy.
