A protest against Ohio’s Senate Bill 5 made it onto Graduate Student Senate’s agenda last night — and it was approved.
GSS brought to the table a resolution to oppose SB 5 and to request President Roderick McDavis and Inter-University Council head Bruce Johnson publically oppose the bill as well.
SB 5 restricts the collective bargaining rights of public employees. Today, students can vote “no” on Issue 2 to repeal SB 5.
The bill “restricts the autonomy which large public universities need to effectively manage their operations” and “restricts the ability of faculty and staff at public universities to determine their own form of organization,” states the resolution.
Before voting on the resolution, GSS conducted a roll-call vote to determine whether it should be on the agenda. It passed with 14 in favor, 12 opposing and two abstaining.
When the resolution made the agenda, it passed with 13 in favor, five opposing and nine abstaining. Many were against discussing SB 5, citing the late date as a reason.
“I’m glad we were able to take a stance on this issue,” GSS President Tracy Kelly said. “It’s good to take a stance. Even though it came out a bit late, it was good to work through these issues.”
Faculty Senate already addressed the bill in March, passing a resolution in opposition of the bill.
Student Senate more recently addressed the bill, first when senate President Kyle Triplett decided not to include a resolution opposing SB 5 on the senate agenda. After several weeks of protests from student organizations such as OU’s chapter of We Are Ohio, senate voted on the resolution. The vote resulted in a tie, which Triplett broke with a “no” vote.
Not all were pleased with the resolution’s success, including Jeff Barbee, vice president for administration and finance.
“I’m very disappointed that it was passed,” he said. “It’s really unfortunate for (senators who support SB 5) that they are now blanketed under this resolution. It’s truly unfair.”
Beckie Sherwood, College of Fine Arts senator and a sponsor of the resolution, said she was happy the resolution passed.
“It went well,” she said. “The most important thing is to debate the issue and be informed of what is happening.”
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