SGA House debates first legislation of 2021
SGA Speaker of the House, Kyle Walker, presents SGA Rep. Nova Moore and Rep. Austin Thompson's legislation asking for closed captioning to be a requirement for students during a Student Government Association meeting over Webex on Feb. 1, 2021.
The Student Government Association (SGA) discussed adding closed captioning and a new program for LGBTQ and disabled Central Michigan University students during the Feb. 1 meeting.
At the meeting, SGA Representative Nova Moore brought forward two pieces of legislation for discussion. The LGBTQ program akin to IMPACT, was authored only by Moore. The closed caption legislation was co-authored by SGA Representative Austin Thompson.
Both pieces of legislation were tabled after discussion and will be voted on at the next House meeting on Feb. 8.
"While (closed captioning) may seem like an inconvenience, for students with hearing impairments or auditory processing disorders it can hinder their learning experience," the closed captioning legislation states.
Moore, who is hearing impaired, said that professors weren't able to accommodate for them more often than not despite her accommodation letter.
"I remember that sometime last semester, WebEx included an auto-caption option that was in my classes for roughly two days," Moore said. "I don't know what necessarily happened, it just stopped."
While Microsoft Teams includes an auto-caption function that they use frequently, Moore said, WebEx and Zoom do not.
Moore also delivered legislation on a program similar to IMPACT that would benefit LGBTQ and disabled students. They want to create a different program because they didn't want "intrude on (IMPACT's) space" since their focus is on racial and ethnic minorities, they said.
“Since each minority group has their own struggles, it is important to address these as efficiently and effectively as we can to support inclusion," Moore stated in the legislation.
Though it was supported, representatives brought up concerns about funding and attendance.
Moore said the university could possibly apply for LGBTQ and disability grants to fund the program. While the legislation does not state how many students it would affect, the goal is to provide education to incoming LGBTQ students so they may find resources prevent dropping out, according to the legislation.
Representative Katelyn King said that there might not be enough engagement to support the program. She said that not many people attend IMPACT and Safari to warrant it.
"Putting on an entire conference, you might not get the engagement to where...the university's going to be willing to put in money for that," King said. "I think this legislation would potentially be better geared towards the (other) programs and having them have special sessions."
The legislation will be voted on in the House next week.
Other business
The budget was changed due to the dissolution of the Special Events Committee, said SGA Treasurer Boluwatife Ogungboye. SGA transferred the funds among the other committees. The Project Coordinator stipend was also partly moved over to the special projects budget.
Students interested in running for the SGA elections should contact Maggie Somerville, SGA President Katie Prebelich and Vice President Brandon McDonald. Election packets will be handed out Feb. 8.
