After members adjusting to new roles as executive officers and representatives, moving to a new office and taking on several projects this summer, Graduate Student Senate is ready to get started.
The group plans to bring seven new resolutions to the table at its first meeting of the academic year Tuesday, which includes a proposal for the immediate renaming of the Roger E. Ailes Newsroom.
The WOUB newsroom was named for the former CEO of Fox News and Ohio University alumnus after he donated $500,000 to the facility. In July, former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Ailes. Following her suit, more than 20 women accused Ailes of harassment, according to the Washington Post.
“That may be our most controversial topic on Tuesday,” Angie Chapman, the vice president of communications for GSS, said.
The other resolutions on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting focus heavily on “housekeeping items,” Chapman said. Some of the proposed resolutions will update the rules and procedures for GSS if the general body votes to pass them.
One such resolution will fix many of the grammatical errors Ken Ward, the vice president of legislative affairs for GSS, found throughout the rules and procedures document. Another resolution will change the rule that states the president must be in attendance at all Board of Trustees meetings. That is no longer necessary as the meetings can now be watched through a
The group will also induct new members. Many of the positions are filled, and both Chapman and President Ian Armstrong said they are excited about having more students participating in senate.
“It was definitely one of our goals to get as many positions filled as possible,” Chapman said.
In addition to voting on new resolutions, the executive officers will each give presentations about expectations, meeting procedures, budget requests and communication tools such as Slack and OrgSync.
Armstrong will report on the projects GSS took on and the progress they made during the summer.
One of the projects included making reusable and environmentally-friendly bags for students to use during Graduate Student Orientation. The bags replaced the disposable plastic ones that normally were used by students during orientation.
The executive team also met with OU President Roderick McDavis and some university administrators this summer — the first time the two groups had met since GSS boycotted presidential and university committees on Nov. 18.
Armstrong said his main priority for this year is to help the board members execute the changes they want to see on campus.
“It’s not my opinion, and it’s not Angie’s opinion that matter(s),” Armstrong said. “It’s the opinion of the people we represent. We want to get them involved and doing things, and we will support them in doing those things.”
