Correction appended.
Ohio University Student Senate voted unanimously in favor of a bill to put a question to referendum concerning concealed-carry on campus at its meeting Wednesday night.
The bill poses a referendum to the student body in which they can vote on an official stance on the issue of recognizing concealed-carry licenses on OU’s campuses.
Senate Bill 199, which was passed in December, allows concealed firearms on college campuses if approved by college trustees.
If at least 50 students vote in the referendum, half the vote will go to students, and the other half will go to senate. The combined votes will create a final stance that will be presented to the Board of Trustees, which will meet next week, before they make their decision.
“There will be students across the rest of campus that care about this issue,” Student Senate vice president Courteney Muhl, the primary sponsor of the bill, said. “Your constituents will be calling on you, being elected representatives of the student body, to take a stance.”
The student body can vote "for" to indicate their support for concealed carry on campus. They can also vote "against" or no indicating they do not support concealed carry and don't want the board to take any action regarding current campus weapon policies.
Current campus weapon policies ban concealed-carry handguns on campus.
“We do not have authority over the Board of Trustees,” Student Senate president Hannah Clouser, the secondary sponsor of the bill, said. “This is just us presenting a stance.”
The referendum will be open and distributed to the student body via online ballot on Jan. 23 at 9 a.m. and will close Jan. 24 at 11:59 p.m. The results will be announced at the Student Senate meeting on Jan. 25.
There will be two informational sessions held to educate students on Senate Bill 199, describe the referendum process, and discuss channels that students may use to express their opinions, according to a senate press release. They will be held Jan. 12 and Jan. 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the Maggie Davis Room behind West 82 in Baker Center.
“I hope you’ve recognized there’s a lot going on,” Muhl said. “This is a prime time for you to exercise your role as a representative reaching out to constituencies. I am going to charge you with taking that role seriously, especially within the next few months.”
Prior to voting on the bill, Student Senate heard from Graduate Student Senate president Ian Armstrong during Student Speakout. He suggested the body exercise caution when voting on the referendum.
“What you tend to see from this kind of referendum is the vocal few disproportionating the actual picture of what the student body will show you,” Armstrong said. “You could pressure (the Board of Trustees) to take up an issue, which changes the whole dynamic of the situation.”
Muhl said she agreed senate should move forward cautiously.
Senate also voted to approve two appointments. Jonathon Schlosser was appointed to serve as residence life commissioner and Ashley Donahue was appointed to serve as off-campus life commissioner.
“I know that Ashley can handle this, and she is very excited about it,” Muhl said.
Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify the context of a quote.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the stances of the referendum. The article has been updated to reflect the most accurate information.
