Student Senate ceremonially confirmed the resignation of former student body treasurer, John Taylor Willis, a third-year studying business administration and international studies, and fast-tracked approval for a special elections bill to find a permanent replacement for the treasurer position on Wednesday night in Talley Student Union. Books will open Nov. 9 and close Nov. 14, and the general election will be held Nov. 20.
Senate Resolution 62, the Treasurer Special Election Act, was fast-tracked with a two-thirds vote for a second hearing, which was then passed with a vote of 42-0-7. Sponsoring Sen. Ryan Dunn, a second-year studying political science, had urged his fellow senators to quickly approve the bill.
“If this bill does not pass tonight, we will not be able to have the election this semester,” Dunn said. “It would break statutes. I definitely recommend that you pass this bill in haste.”
The bill stipulates that all voting for the general election will occur online, and the spending limit for candidates will be $250.
Finance Bill 60, the Students for Immigrant Rights Funding Act, sought to allocate $3,500 to Students for Immigrant Rights, who are planning to send 15 students on a service trip to Dilley, Texas, over spring break in order to provide legal support to immigrant women and children awaiting asylum hearings.
Sent from the Finance Committee with a favorable view, President of Students for Immigrant Rights Carl Hintz, a fourth-year studying chemistry and mathematics, commented on why the money was requested.
“The reason for this request is that not everyone who is able to go on the trip would be able to without the financial support,” Hintz said. “We knew there were limited funds available and we decided that was a reasonable amount to request. Additionally, we asked the people who had been accepted to state their amount of financial need, and we had eight participants who said they did need substantial support in order for them to be able to afford the trip.”
The Students for Immigrant Rights Funding Act was passed with a vote of 54-0-2, along with an approved amendment proposed by Sen. Zac Lentz, a graduate student in biological and agricultural engineering, which stipulated the money would be allocated specifically to the Students for Immigrant Rights.
Resolution 57, the Trans-Inclusive Syllabi Act, sought to establish a trans-inclusive syllabi clause to affirm and respect the identities of transgender students in the classroom. Those who identify as transgender would have the opportunity to contact their professor with a name or pronouns other than what is listed in the student directory.
After a debate over whether the bill should state if the clause is optional, J Hallen, director of diversity outreach in Student Government, weighed in on its intentions.
“Adding an optional clause rather than a mandatory clause gives professors a choice to be active allies in a similar way to participating in trainings or putting a rainbow sticker on their office door,” Hallen said. “We want professors to know about the importance of this clause and add it on their own volition rather than being forced and adding something they don’t believe in, and therefore probably will not act on.”
The amendment to remove “optional” was rejected 0-51 through a standing vote, and the resolution was passed with a vote of 55-0-4.
Resolution 56, the Party Act, called to discourage the intentional release of party balloons and confetti on campus, due to what could result in pollution, littering and harmed wildlife. The legislation passed with a vote of 53-2-4.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Jared Smith, a first-year studying political science, discussed his inspiration for the bill, as well its intent.
“There was an event on NC State campus that mentioned in their event details that they would be releasing balloons,” Smith said. “I actually contacted them, and said that this was bad for the environment, and they actually responded really well. This made me think about how many other events do release balloons or confetti. This act isn’t about policing the events in general; it’s to discourage. It’s stating a warning.”
Student Senate President Pro Tempore Adam Schmidt, a second-year student studying civil engineering, proposes to amend a bill at the NC State student senate meeting in Talley Student Union on Wednesday. Schmidt was one of the co-sponsors for a bill to impeach former student body treasurer John Taylor Willis.
