Student Senate held its weekly general body meeting Oct. 29 on the first floor of Walter Hall, due to a scheduling issue, with all members in costume for Halloween.
Next semester, the normal meeting place will be reinstated, thanks to the Student Senate’s partners at the Registrar’s Office.
Since the meeting took place two days before Halloween, all of the members were in costume, with President Dan Gordillo dressed as Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman in jeans and a hoodie because “well, frankly, I didn’t have anything else to wear, and it's a nice break from my regular suit and tie.”
The meeting began once the roll was taken and a quorum was established. The minutes from the previous meeting were accepted.
There was then a guest presentation from David McNelly, the chair of the Athens City Commission on Disabilities. He provided a brief overview of what the commission does and its goals.
McNelly said the bricks uptown are the biggest issue for people with and without disabilities, yet the city has done nothing about it.
“The city of Athens has never had an ADA Transition Plan, which is required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,” McNelly said.
McNelly also mentioned there is an Athens business grant for accessibility services, but it has not been funded for the past couple of years.
He emphasized the importance of the enforcement of the ADA and the potential for lawsuits if issues are not addressed.
“Those of us who have been working on this for almost a decade now are at that point,” McNelly said. “It takes up so much time. It drains money from the city's budget. We don't want to do that, but if it doesn't happen, and they put people in charge of the ADA Transition Plan who don't even know what the ADA is, which is what's happening right now, then what choice do we have?”
Following McNelly’s presentation, there were three new appointments made to the Senate.
In Senate Resolution 2526-67, Emma Lucas was appointed as assistant chief of staff. Senate Resolution 2526-68 saw Khaleb Davis appointed to the position of Environmental Affairs Senator, and Resolution 2526-69 appointed Milan Hall as associate justice to the Judicial Panel.
After the appointments were approved, each commissioner gave a brief report on the state of their commissions and events that have been put on, or are in the works to take place. There were no Senate or niversity committee reports.
During the treasurer’s reports, they listed the amounts of money the Senate has, money that is allocated and not spent, money neither allocated nor spent and the amount the Senate Appropriations Committee has.
The executive staff also gave their reports, followed by Adviser Tony Gregory and Graduate Assistant Tuba Ahmad’s reports.
Ahmad said the Senate website will soon be updated during her report.
The meeting ended and was adjourned with no discussion. The next Senate meeting is Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 7:15 p.m. in Walter Hall.
