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| Larger voice for disabled
students |
David Forbes
SGA Beat
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With barely
enough members in attendance to vote on legislation, the Student
Government Association passed a bill calling for a committee on
keeping the campus accessible to students with disabilities during
construction. SGA also struck down an attempt to revise the Student
Bill of Rights, with those revisions failing to get the two-thirds
of the senators in attendance needed.
SGA unanimously passed a bill calling for a committee to be formed,
including disabled students, to insure the campus remained accessible
during construction projects.
“As you know, the campus is undergoing a major construction
and renovation, and as such I felt it was critical that planning
for students with disabilities and other mobilities was part of
this plan,” sophomore political science major Hunter B. Palmer,
a disabled student, said.
If approved by the administration, the bill would set up a standing
advisory committee made up of faculty, staff and students, with
some members being disabled. The committee would make recommendations
to the administration about keeping the campus accessible during
construction.
“This does [create] a new committee, but it has no legislative
or administrative powers,” Palmer said. “This is strictly
a committee of suggestion, to inform the university on these issues.
We are going to include as many disabled students as the university
allows [on the committee].”
An attempt put forward by senators H. Dustin Bayard, Justin Moore
and Mark J. Miller to revise the Student Bill of Rights failed to
get the two-thirds majority necessary to pass, with 19 senators
voting for the bill, and 13 against.
The proposed revisions to the student’s bill of rights included
extensions of the right to assembly to anywhere on campus and extending
the right to privacy to ban search and seizure in residence halls
without a warrant, as well as various other revisions.
“Faced with the opportunity, inalienable rights should be protected.
By passing this, the senate would be showing faith in the student
body,” Bayard said. “It doesn’t matter whether we
agree on this bill, but whether we agree that the students should
vote on the matter.”
If the bill had passed, students would have voted on the new bill
of rights in a referendum next year.
“I think the bill and referendum would be a wise step; a lot
of students aren’t aware of their rights,” off-campus
senator Dorothy M. Andrews said.
Opposition to the bill centered around its extension of the right
to privacy and concerns that the changes would limit resident assistants
(RA).
“This bill would take away the rights of an RA and limits their
ability to do their job of overseeing health and safety and makes
it so they can’t protect students’ rights,” off-campus
senator Joshua M. Edwards said.
“I’ve spoken with the Resident Student Association, and
they do not want this, it turns the RA’s job into a mockery,”
Doughton Residence Hall senator Adam B. Houseman said. |
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