On Wednesday, Ohio University Student Senate will propose its response to a request for the body to withdraw a bill previously passed.
Senate passed a bill calling for the “strengthening of OU’s guiding principles” at its meeting Feb. 15, which prompted them to send a letter to the Board of Trustees calling for more transparency.
The bill was a criticism of how the board dealt with former trustee Kevin Lake. Lake was found guilty of evading more than $3.5 million in taxes and pleaded guilty to drug, tax and fraud charges as well as to prescribing illegal prescriptions to patients. He stepped down from the board Jan. 21.
Board of Trustees Chair David Wolfort replied to senate’s bill by respectfully asking them to withdraw it.
“It is not fair, nor accurate, to suggest that the Board has not been fully transparent and has not sufficiently expressed its indignation regarding Lake’s behavior,” Wolfort wrote in a letter to senate.
Student Senate President Hannah Clouser said senate will not vote on whether to withdraw the bill, but the body will discuss their response to Wolfort’s letter.
Senate will vote on a bill in regard to a policy on people who identify as trans+ and gender non-conforming at OU.
LGBTQA Affairs Vice-Commissioner Jordan Kelley, the primary sponsor of the bill, expects it to pass.
“We wanted to find a way to show the trans community on our campus that we were here for them,” Kelley said. “Asking the school to reaffirm that commitment was the simplest way we could do that.”
Senate will receive a presentation from Faculty Senate Chair Joe McLaughlin about the textbook initiative, Clouser said. McLaughlin serves on the committee for the Textbook Affordability Taskforce and will answer senate’s questions about the textbook initiative, which is a part of Gov. John Kasich’s budget proposal that asks universities to include $300 for textbook costs in tuition.
Senate will also vote on nine resolutions. Seven of them are about budgets and two are for appointments.
If the appointments pass, two new senators will join the Residence Life Commission.
Clouser said she expects the bills to pass.
