Several pieces of legislation passed during final SGA meeting of the year
Several pieces of legislation were passed in both the Student Government house and senate tonight at the last official Student Government Association meeting of the year.
A resolution for the implementation of a system to check Flex and meal swipe balances regardless of day, time or purchase, a resolution to support the creation of a mascot at Central Michigan University, a resolution to support the review and evaluation of CMU's policy on technology transfer and intellectual property and more were brought back before both bodies after amendments had been made to the bills in meetings prior.
Some members of the senate were hesitant on passing the mascot bill, as they were not sure if keeping the name Chippewa but not having a correlated mascot would still be considered offensive.
"There was some discussion in my committee that even though (the university) will not be using a Native American symbol or (any part of their) culture (as the mascot), we should have some discussion with the tribe as to what would or would not be offensive to them before passing (the legislation)," said senator Kait Ridings.
Involving the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe was a major point of contention in the house as well.
"Although it was not mentioned, the (Saginaw Chippewa Indian) Tribe, CMU and any (necessary) administration, we will be discussing (this) with them," said Birmingham sophomore Connor Stein, a member of the joint committee which helped to ensure the bill's creation.
The bill's author, senator Kit Skoog, assured members of the senate the bill was just a stepping stone towards a "long process."
"This is the first step in the very long journey of a mascot," Skoog said. "The backbone of this legislation is just to say that students want a mascot. Further down the road, there will be concrete talks with athletics, the tribe and anyone (who takes part in) making the mascot."
Voting also opened today for the SGA presidential election. Elections committee member Matt Daly said nearly 500 people voted on Monday in alone. The goal is for roughly 1,700 ballots to be cast, said Senate Leader Rebecca Detroyer, which is nearly the same amount of votes cast in the last contested election.
Voting is open online until midnight on April 8. The new president will be sworn in on April 11.
