The Student Government Senate met Tuesday and discussed standing committee reports, including internal affairs, business and finance, public affairs and academic and student relations reports.
Student Government President, Desmond Miller, outlined the body’s priorities for the 2014-15 school year. These priorities include:
- Improving campus roads and parking lots for students, faculty and staff
- Establishing family restrooms & shower curtains in facilities so students feel comfortable showering in facilities like the Rec/IM
- Making the ground floor of the library into a 24-hour space
- Renovating the Rec/IM and extending its hours of operations until 11:30 p.m.
- Building reflection rooms in the Student Center and the College of Business
- Encouraging departments and student organizations to hold more events for students over the weekend to attract residents and commuters
- Providing more programs to discuss institutionalized racism and discrimination
- Building stronger ties between EMU and Ypsilanti by creating more programs and events to collaborate with the city in an effort to make students more involved in the community
- Pushing for the improvements of safety, including a cellphone application that will allow students to alert the Department of Public Safety if they are in danger
- Establishing more proactive programs that will teach students about the importance of consent and sexual violence
- Registering students to vote and encouraging them to exercise their vote on Nov. 4, 2014
- Providing students with AAATA bus passes for free access to the transportation routes around the city of Ypsilanti
- Bringing more awareness to the Disabilities Resource Center
Additional concerns that Miller is campaigning for include promoting a taxi service on and around EMU’s campus to prevent students from drinking and driving and establishing EMU as a tobacco-free campus.
The updated version of the fiscal year 2015 budget was also highlighted at this meeting, which now includes the $10,000 spent on the extension of the Rec/IM hours, which began Wednesday, Oct. 1. Although this is just a pilot program, it will become normal campus procedure if the results are positive.
The next student government senate meeting will be held Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 6:30 p.m., in the Student Center Room 352.
