Senate passes four bills, one resolution and two senator confirmations

The ASWSU Senate meeting took place from 5:30 – 9 p.m. on Wednesday, discussing many different bills and one resolution.

There were two new Senate appointments for the Murrow College of Communication and the College of Arts and Sciences, Kyle Montgomery and Parker Ruehl respectively.

A new Black Student Union (BSU) chair was also confirmed by the Senate. Chijioke Emeka discussed her love of BSU and the empowerment it facilitates among the black student community at WSU. After a few questions from the Senate, she was unanimously confirmed.

Four bills and one resolution were unanimously passed by the Senate. Bills 46-28 and 46-30 were authored by Sen. Matthew Morrow and were written to make information about the bylaws and responsibilities for the next Senate easier to understand.

Bill 46-31 was written by Sen. Kacie Kubosumi to make it mandatory for Election Board member’s names to be publically available online like all other members of ASWSU.

Bill 46-32 was written by Sen. Devon Holze in order to amend the bylaws to reflect the state minimum wage in the senators pay.

Resolution 46-14 was written by Sen. Kevin Schilling to support and raise awareness about the Showcase for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (SURCA). Shilling said that when he participated in SURCA it all but changed his life, and he thinks it is a great opportunity for undergrads on campus to get research experience.

Mary Sanchez Lanier, Assistant Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, gave a short presentation about SURCA before the Senate unanimously passed the resolution.

At the beginning of the meeting, a presentation was given by Pullman Fire Department Chief Mike Heston about the possible student fee to pay for free ambulance rides.

Heston discussed the pros and cons of the fee which could appear on the student ballot next spring. The $25 fee would give all undergraduate WSU students free ambulance rides for emergencies and for smaller medical problems. The fire department also planned to use the money to pay for a bigger staff.

Heston described staffing issues the Fire Department faces. Some nights on College Hill they will have 25-30 calls and need to have all of their staff working to cover everything, he said.

At the very end of the meeting, ASWSU Vice President Kyle Strachila mentioned that there will not be a proposal for an athletics fee as had been speculated on earlier in the semester.

In order for a referendum to appear on the ballot in March, it must be proposed to the Senate and passed by the next Senate meeting on Feb. 8.