Student Senate voted in support of the establishment of a Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, and Bisexual Center on campus last night.

This was the second reading of the proposed bill that the Senate had previously sent to the Campus Community Committee during the last meeting. Sen. Greg Doucette, Sen. Matthew Potter and Sen. Kate Sutton sponsored the bill.

The new LGBT center has an estimated start-up cost of less than $200,000. Half of the cost will come from diversity allotment and the other half will come from student academic fees, according Matt Haggard, chair of the Campus Community Committee and senator for College of Management.

“The money is coming from previous allotments,” Student Senate President Zach Adams said.

Matthew Potter, senator for CHASS, said The Princeton Review rated N.C. State as the 15th least gay-friendly campus, despite the fact that 10 percent of “any given” population is lesbian or gay.

“I must say that’s kind of embarrassing,” Potter said.

The source of funding and the effect of the LGBT center portion on other student activities was a major concern throughout the debate.

“Look at it as the community asking for support, not the community asking for funding,” Harrison Gilbert, senator for CHASS, said.

James Hankins, Senator for Lifelong education, referenced the 50th anniversary of African-American students graduating from the University the very same day of the meeting in similarity to the issues now facing another minority group.

“Now we are talking about denying a building to a group of students based on who they are. That’s kind of backwards,” Sen. Hankins said to an uproar of applause.

Not all senators were in support of the center. Scott Lassiter, senator for at-large first-year students, said he did not see the relationship between African-Americans and LGBT students in the same way Hankins expressed them.

“You don’t choose to be a minority — you are born a minority,” Lassiter said. “I personally believe you have some control over your sexuality.”

Laura Miller, senator for at-large first-year students, mentioned the importance of considering the beliefs and values that each senator holds prior to voting.

“We also need to think about how we look as a school,” Miller said.

Senate members in favor of passing the proposal for the LGBT center saw the issue as more than a concept of space and money.

“This is the major fight for equality in our lifetime,” Paul Cash, senator for at-large first-year students, said.

With a 29 yes vote, 14 no vote, the Senate passed the bill — 11 senators were absent from the voting.

Gilbert indicated that approval from the Student Senate is the first of many steps the proposal must go through.

“The funding for the center still has not been secured, therefore the proposal will go through a fee review committee and see the provost and eventually the chancellor and trustees,” he said. “It is the first step of many steps, but it is a step in the right direction.”