After missing their last two scheduled meetings due to a low attendance, the SGA student senators settled down for a long meeting Tuesday as the agenda had piled up.
“We got quorum,” Brandon Morrow, senate chair, said to a clapping Student Senate meeting Tuesday evening.
The senate unanimously passed three bills. A bill for the addition of seats in the hallways of the Humanities Building and Ayres Hall was sponsored by Kelly Carter, College of Arts and Science senator, and Betsy Harr, Massey Hall senator, passed first.
Another bill called for the creation of a pedestrian crosswalk to connect the area by Gate 23 at Neyland Stadium with the engineering buildings behind the stadium. James Akins, College of Business senator, sponsored this bill and another for the addition of Blue Light Phones along Perkins, Estabrook and Pasqua buildings.
Nine other bills and six resolutions were presented and tabled. Zak Kelley, College of Art and Sciences senator, presented a bill that would allow longboarding on campus.
Kelley said that he had talked to the UT Police Department officials who said they could train officers to learn the difference between skateboards and longboards. Skateboards are only 2.5 feet long with tails at the end for doing tricks. Longboards are longer, heavier and quieter than skateboards and are specifically designed for transportation. This bill would allow longboarding on campus and give them access to bike lanes and other safe areas.
Anne Marie Sherman, social work senator and resident assistant at South Carrick Hall, presented a bill to encourage the placement of more cigarette receptacles in Presidential Courtyard. Sherman’s residents complained to her about the littering of cigarette butts by the laundry vents in front of South Carrick and North Carrick.
“(Cigarette receptacles) could be placed on the grassy knoll by the vents,” Sherman said.
Another bill sponsored by Jamie Lonie, commuter senator, called for the prohibition of the distribution of paper promotional material in parking garages. Lonie said most students ignore the promos and the paper litters the garage area.
“This is wasting paper and killing trees. The parking lots are part of our campus and (we) need to care for them,” Lonie said. Art and architecture senator Samuel Mortimer said the bill was redundant, as this was a policy already in effect.
Commuter senator Jennifer Buntin presented a bill to encourage the Student Health Center to make the number of UT’s 24-hour nurse line more visible to students. Buntin retold a story of her contracting the flu and then having an allergic reaction to her medicine at 1 a.m. It wasn’t serious enough to go to the emergency room, but she said she wished she had known about the 24-hour nurse line so she could talk to a professional.
Morrow presented a resolution, co-sponsored by John Rader, former president, and Anna York, former senate president, to honor Tim Rogers, vice chancellor of student affairs.
“He is one of the most active advocates for students on campus,” Morrow said. Rogers has been with UT for 26 years. “He’s made a huge impact on my life,” Morrow said.
The last SGA senate meeting will be held April 15 at 5:15 p.m. in the Shiloh Room at the University Center.