Student Senate was headlined Wednesday night by the unanimous passing of a resolution that recently gained some traction university-wide.
The fourth proposal of the Conflict-Free Campus resolution, a resolution urging Ohio University to cease buying conflict minerals, passed to widespread applause among several other items of discussion.
A resolution to fund “Sit Down, Speak Up,” a senate program that is used to bridge the gap between student senators and students, was also unanimously passed.
“Sit Down, Speak Up” takes place every Thursday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Whit’s on the corner of Union St. and S. Court St.
The budget for the weekly event is almost $200 to buy students coffee and promote the event.
During executive reports, Senate President Zach George brought up the meeting he, along with vice president Amrit Saini and treasurer Evan Ecos, had last night with Vice President for Finance and Administration Stephen Golding.
George said he felt the conversation went much better than others in the past, but reminded administrators that this is just the beginning of conversations between students and the administration.
“We’d all agree at times that our voices are marginalized,” he said. “As a body, we cannot back down or be still on this issue.”
Both Golding and Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit will be at next week’s senate meeting, a meeting both George and Ecos encouraged their senators to attend the off-week session
“This is going to be one of the most important meetings we’ve had,” Ecos said.
Other senate business included a discussion about the Bobcat Student Lounge on the bottom floor of Baker University Center and what can be done to improve the space for student use.
The Student Appropriations Commission had a balance of $151,311.11 at the meeting, while senate had a balance of $23,884.52, according to information presented during the meeting.
“Keep the fire in your gut, keep fighting for the students and be active,” Ecos said. “We’ve had an amazing start but keep it up.”
dd195710@ohiou.edu
