On April 22, student senate approved standing committee chairs, the parliamentarian position, the student body president’s cabinet, appointments to the judicial branch and other miscellaneous Student Governing Association positions.
The newly sworn-in senate committee chair members presented to the senate about the importance of each committee. Student senate will announce who serves on which committees at next week’s senate meeting.
In addition, the student senate introduced several pieces of legislation that will be voted on next week.
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One bill is to transfer funds from a surplus account to a debt reduction account in order to cover the lack of money collected from the privilege fee during the past year because of the pandemic.
The effects of the pandemic also led Creighton Glasscock, senior in computer science, and Nick Saia, sophomore in civil engineering, to introduce a bill opposing the GPA requirements for many students’ scholarship renewals. Saia said they wanted to analyze how scholarships are brought forth and give students a second chance in the future.
“In the current environment, GPAs, scores, grades, things of that nature, are not an accurate reflection of how willing students are to learn, to contribute and to really be engaged with their classes,” Saia said. “The students that are brand-new at K-State, that don’t have a GPA buffer built up, are the ones that actually have the most to lose in the future if their scholarships get terminated.”
In addition, the student senate introduced an appeal to K-State for reform in how it defends student safety in independent student organizations. ISOs, such as fraternities and sororities, are not endorsed or controlled by the university, and they don’t have faculty oversight.
The appeal makes three demands of K-State administration:
- A framework for investigating conduct that happens in ISOs, particularly in cases of harassment or discrimination and violations of Title IX.
- A restriction on resources, requiring ISOs to follow university jurisdiction to be able to access certain funding, facilities, online services, and KSU trademarks.
- A requirement for all registered student organizations to have oversight.
Saia said he hopes to get this appeal passed before the summer so K-State administration would have a few months to respond properly to best ensure student safety.
Student senate will reconvene for the final session of the semester at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 29. Members of Student Governing Association can meet in Room 1088 of the Business Building, while others can join via Zoom. Students interested in attending future meetings can email Blake Phillips, speaker of the senate and sophomore in management information systems, at bphillips@ksu.edu.
