Student senate approves 10 resolutions at open meeting

Ten resolutions were swiftly passed and one bill was denied at the Student Senate meeting Wednesday night in the New Science building.
The meeting was open to all students and faculty but was still operated like any usual meeting.
The meeting started with a heated discussion on the agenda of SGA meetings. A bill was presented to reform the agenda but was eventually denied with the majority of the senators voting against it.
After the vote the meeting continued with the senators approving the 10 other legislative initiatives that were read: a resolution that would provide students with personal on-campus storage, an amendment to the homecoming during midterms resolution, a resolution for the commencement ticket issue, a link on the university's webpage that will let student check their Pantherbucks, a resolution for university billboards on Highway 290, funding for the addition of a computer lab in the Woolfolk building, additional funding for the White Coat Ceremony, a resolution to change the admission requirements for the Nursing School, funding for a student and faculty luncheon, and a resolution for a new student senator.
Jacolahn Dudley, senator of languages and communication, presented the resolution on the fall commencement ticket distribution; the resolution was met with approving shouts from the audience and was unanimously voted on.
"I think it's fair that everyone gets the same amount of tickets for graduation," said Senator Chris Grady before the official vote.
Another resolution that the senators overwhelmingly agreed upon was the proposition for administration to provide a link on the university's webpage that would allow students to view their remaining Pantherbucks.
Senator Marcus R. Washington made the audience erupt in laughter when he spoke of his reason for proposing the resolution.
"I was just about to buy some Chick-Fil-A, then the cashier told me I ran out of Pantherbucks," said Washington.
While most of the resolutions were easily passed some were met with extended debate and discussion.
One of the more debated resolutions involved Senator Monica Santillan's agreement with the College of Nursing's new plan for admission requirements.
She presented the resolution that suggested the removal of the automatic acceptance of Prairie View pre-nursing students into the College of Nursing over more qualified transfer students. The resolution stated that most Prairie View students had lower GPAs than their transfer counterparts.
Shortly after Santillan's presentation many of the other senators raised their hands to suggest a friendly amendment to the resolution.
"This was controversial because it was about academics. Most students want to fell competent when they go off to nursing school," said Santillan after the meeting.
Another resolution that garnered considerable attention from the audience was the proposition for the relocation of the annual homecoming tent party.
The new College of Business building will start construction on Alumni Field next year, which is where the tent party is held.
The resolution suggests a new location from the homecoming tradition, but demands that the party remains on campus.
After the executive branch of the Student Government Association signs the resolutions they will be submitted to the university administration.