SGA house and senate split on legislation in final meeting of academic year
SGA House Leader Drake Smarch counts votes in the Bovee University Center Auditorium on April 2.
Of six proposed resolutions, four passed during the final Student Government Association meeting of the 2017-18 academic year.
Legislation supporting the implementation of a human trafficking awareness week the final week of January and legislation requesting the development of an application to track and report available parking on campus passed in senate, but not in house. The resolutions are considered unsuccessful.
Parliamentarian Winnifred Walsh said further tabling the legislation would place the responsibility on the new administration because the current meeting, held in the Bovee University Center Auditorium on April 2, was the year's last.
"We could try to table it, but we don't have any more SGA meetings," she said. "That would be tabling it indefinitely and it would have to be brought up next year."
Concerns arose regarding texting and driving when discussion opened for the legislation proposing an application to track parking spots on campus.
"We need to keep pushing for change, we just don't need this change," said Croswell freshman Daniel Dahlstrom. "This change isn't the right way to do it."
Four resolutions passed in house and senate:
- In support of default double-sided printing via PrintQ.
- In support of the creation of a committee for Meatless Mondays on campus.
- Implementation of a fall break in Central Michigan University's academic calendar.
- Construction of a sidewalk on CMU's West campus to ensure pedestrian safety.
Though the resolution supporting the creation of an application to track available parking on campus, Senator and author of the legislation Lance Wood invited CMU Police Department Capt. Fred Harris to speak during SGA's General Board meeting.
Harris said Parking Services is looking into license plate recognition software that would replace the current sticker systems. The replacement system would help reduce "failure to display" citations during winter months when snow accumulates on windshields and hides parking passes.
"Even though I'm the police, I'm not a big person for parking citations, really," Harris said.
Harris added he is also acting on complaints he has heard regarding the SafeRides system during winter months. This upcoming winter, he said, SafeRides will begin services at 6 p.m. rather than 8 p.m. to compensate for lost daylight.
Regarding the possibility of a parking structure on campus, Harris said the idea is nice, but there's an "astronomical cost" attached to it, making commitment to building the structure difficult.
SGA will not be holding any more formal meetings this semester, but will be hosting the State of the Student Body Address in the Bovee University Center Auditorium on April 16 at 7 p.m.
