Members of the judicial branch present their resolutions to the senate. Photo by Kristina Balciunaite/Assistant Branding and Outreach Manager
Kristina Balciunate
Assistant Branding and Outreach Manager
The Undergraduate Student Government Association senate met for its last formal meeting of the semester on Tuesday, March 21 and voted on ten resolutions.
The resolutions regarded increasing the availability of female hygiene products on campus, increasing responsibility of students engaging in harassment using third-party social media applications, engaging UAB in supporting petition for better notification of sewage spills in Alabama and amendments regarding USGA’s judicial branch.
The resolution regarding the availability of feminine hygiene products in campus bathrooms, co-authored by senator for the College of Arts and Sciences Tamara Imam and president-elect and current Director of Student Issues Mugdha Mokashi, was picked up for discussion from the last formal meeting.
The proposal calls for the university to provide tampons, pads and panty liners in all women’s and gender neutral bathrooms on campus. The resolution does not explicitly call for the products to be provided for free, as the authors stated they would leave the decision up to administrators should they decide to implement the initiative. The senate passed the resolution unanimously.
The second resolution increased accountability for students who engage in harassment behaviors using apps such as Snapchat and GroupMe. According to College of Arts and Sciences senator Tia Davis, who authored the resolution, Student Advocacy Rights and Conduct is not currently permitted to ask accused students if they have engaged in alleged harassment.
Davis’ resolution, after being amended, called for a partnership between USGA and SARC to attempt to resolve what she called a “gray area” of what SARC can ask students accused of harassment. The resolution was passed by the senate, although several senators voted against it and a significant number abstained from the vote, some citing concerns over privacy issues.
USGA Chief of Staff Tiffany Colburn presented a resolution, which she co-authored with the Black Warrior Riverkeeper Executive Director Charles Scribner, calling for USGA to support a petition urging the Alabama Environmental Management Commission to require wastewater treatment facilities to implement a large scale public notification plan in the event that a sewage spill occurs in public waters in the state. The resolution passed unanimously.
Seven resolutions regarding the judicial branch were presented, of which six were passed and one failed. The resolution that was not passed was a proposition to change the current rule that limits associate justices to serving a maximum term of one academic year to allow them to serve a maximum of three years.
Kristina Balciunaite can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @KscopeKristina.
**Editor’s Note: This story includes and was edited by Tamara Imam. Imam serves as the Branding and Outreach Manager for the Kaleidoscope.
