The Eastern Michigan University Student Senate resolved to oppose Michigan House Bill No. 4165, which aims to restrict certain college students from receiving government food assistance, and appointed a new Election Commissioner at a meeting Tuesday.
The Senate voted unanimously to oppose this bill with a 15 yes, zero no and zero abstentions vote.
Senator Joshua Lowe, a sponsor of the resolution to oppose the Bill, said in an address to the board that the assumption of the lawmakers who made the Bill was students are using their Bridge Cards to purchase alcohol instead of food, and grocery stores encourage students to apply for Bridge Cards to increase their own sales, not to help students in need.
Lowe and other senators said it isn’t right to take action on the assumption of misuse.
“A lot of college students are in need of it,” Lowe said.
According to the Bill, “An individual who is enrolled in a state institution of higher education who is claimed by his or her parent or guardian for Federal income tax purposes is not eligible to receive food assistance benefits.”
Bill No. 4165))/mileg.aspx?page=getobject&objectname=2011-HB-4165 was introduced by Rep. Joe Haveman, R-Holland, its primary sponsor. It was also sponsored by Reps. Dave Adema, R-Grandville; Amanda Price, R-Holland; and Bob Genetski, R-Saugatuck.
Feb. 1, the Bill was introduced to the House, read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Families, Children, and Seniors. It was filed Feb. 3, but it has not yet been voted on.
Also at the Senate meeting, Tiran Burrell was appointed a senator to fill a recent vacancy. He was appointed with a unanimous vote.
Burrell was then nominated for the position of Election Commissioner, which Vice President of Student Government Muayad Mahmoud pointed out would require him to resign his role as a senator to fulfill. Curtis Rodriguez, another senator, was the other nominee. Burrell was elected as the Commissioner by a secret-ballot vote. The number of votes each candidate received was not announced.
During time allotted for debate on the two candidates, Lowe and a Student Government delegate voiced opposition to both candidates, saying they would be biased in the position.
“I was trying to motion or bring up the point of why haven’t we had an application from any of the regular student body,” Lowe said. “They pointed out to me, that’s something technically, usually reserved for somebody within Student Government to be nominated. I didn’t know that.”
After the meeting, Director of Communications Patrick Holubik said the position is open to all members of the student body. Holubik said there were nominees who were regular student body members, but none of them responded when contacted further about the position.
The position opening was not publicized beforehand in the announcement section of the Student Government website or on Facebook, where other positions are posted within Student Government.
“It’s by nomination,” Holubik said. “It’s not a job. It’s a nominated position. There is no directive to publicize it (in the Student Government Bylaws). It’s an appointed position.”
Holubik said Burrell resigned from the Senate after the meeting, in which he became a senator, in accordance with his new role.
After the meeting, Lowe said he was confident both the nominees for the position of election commissioner would have done the job well.
Also at the meeting Tuesday, Lois Vasquez authored a resolution to establish an ad hoc oversight committee tasked with evaluating and giving feedback to the executive board members.
The resolution was voted down with one yes vote, 13 no votes and one abstention.
“Our directors (on the executive board) are paid members of the Student Government,” Vasquez said in her address to the Senate. “And when there are problems, the Student Senate only has two options: censure and removal.”
Vasquez said both options are too extreme, and the Senate needs more options to provide feedback to the board.
Opponents of the resolution argued the committee was unnecessary because there are already options for senators to provide feedback, especially with the Internal Affairs Committee, which is led by the speaker of the senate and consists of senators.
Vasquez also discussed her role in getting environmentally friendly caps and gowns for the graduating class this year.
“I am working on campus sustainability,” she said. “I was presenting at a conference for the association for the advancement of sustainability. I saw that we have different options for environmentally caps and gowns.”
She said she researched the different options and, with the Commencement Committee, decided on recycled plastic bottles as a material after a poll of EMU students and talking with the Student Center bookstore manager.
