Student Senate held their first meeting of the year Wednesday night.
Some Ohio University Student Senate members left their suits and ties at home during the body’s first meeting of the academic year Wednesday, a meeting at which some members boldly called for more student involvement during the weekly meetings. Members passed a resolution opening senate discussion to all OU students.
The senate constitution previously barred non-senate members from addressing the body at meetings. The exception was Student Speak OUt, which was held at the beginning of the meeting and allotted anyone three minutes to address the body. With the passed resolution, all students can voice opinions throughout the meeting, not just during the speak out.
Senate Vice President Caitlyn McDaniel celebrated the passing of this resolution, reflecting on her past struggles of speaking at senate meetings before she joined the body.
“Even before I was in senate, I came to meetings, and I specifically remember instances when I tried to speak out and was cut off on multiple occasions,” McDaniel said, expressing her excitement for the new protocol of student involvement.
Following the resolution, the body spent about half an hour discussing the future of a possible Student Worker Committee. Discussions focused on the unionization of student workers on campus. Some suggested higher wages for all student workers.
Most student campus workers make about minimum wage — $7.95 in the state of Ohio.
The final discussion of the night focused on some members’ demand for “no tuition hikes to support administrative pay raises,” which was the platform that much of the body, including McDaniel and Senate President Megan Marzec, ran on in the spring.
The topic sparked much debate among the body, with a proposed organized student strike at the forefront of the discussion. Some members voiced their opposition to the idea, instead asking for more conversation before action is taken.
“I think the meeting went great,” Marzec said after the roughly two-hour meeting. “We had vigorous discussions that the body had never seen before.”
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