In the Student Government Political Action Committee meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 13 resolutions were passed to recommend the appointment of David E. Rutledge and reappointment of Regent Beth Fitzsimmons to the Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents.
Political Action Committee:
Hermione Dorace was elected as vice-chair to record minutes. The Board of Regent positions for Regent Stapleton and Regent Fitzsimmons will be open in Dec. of this year. The first resolution was a recommendation for Gov. Rick Snyder to reappoint Fitzsimmons to the Office of EMU Regents from Jan. 2017 to Dec. 2024. The Student Government believes that Fitzsimmons is dedicated to the students in the EMU community and has been the most responsive to the concerns of EMU student body.
The next resolution was another recommendation for Gov. Snyder to appoint David E. Rutledge to the Office of EMU Regents from Jan. 2017 to Dec. 2024 because of his dedication to the EMU community and his experience as state representative of the 54th District. Both resolutions were approved by the Committee.
Sexual Assault Prevention Week was discussed with plans for several events to take place during the week of Sept. 28. Members were asked to work an event to take pledges. A documentary showing called "Audrie & Daisy" will be screened and self-defense classes will be organized in collaboration with Officer Candace Dorsey.
Student involvement to vote was also discussed. The Student Government plans to host four debate watch screenings. Student Government recently purchased Turbo Vote, which allows all student organizations to log in if they are participating in voter registration. Once student information is registered, Turbo Vote will send reminders and voting information to everyone registered in the system.
Internal Affairs:
Emily Kindred was elected as vice-chair to take minutes at upcoming meetings. Tiraj Lucas, B. Preston Johnson and Hermione Dorace failed to attend a summer summit meeting, resulting in a vote to assign an absence. In a vote all three members did not receive an absence for the required Senate meeting.
Three delegacy applications were voted on with the LBGT community, the Black Student Union and Housing & Residence Life applying for delegacy.
A representative from the LBGT community said that they should have representation because EMU hosts the largest LBGT community in its region, the LBGT community has received support from the EMU Board of Regents and EMU is known for being friendly toward its LBGT students. The delegacy application was moved on to the Senate in a vote of 5-0.
The Black Student Union is attempting to become the main representative entity for all black student organizations on campus. According to their representative they are the second largest demographic on campus with approximately 4,000 black students and the representative felt that their community deserves and needs a voice. The Black Student Union's delegation application was moved on to the Senate in a vote of 5-0.
Housing & Residence Life applied for delegacy with its representative noting that they represent everyone who lives on campus and work closely with student government on several different matters such as funding and event planning. Resident Housing's delegacy application was moved on to the Senate in a vote of 5-0.
The meeting ended on training procedures for new Senate members and those applying to become Senate members.
