The final Student Government Senate meeting of the semester before the change of administration was filled with goodbyes, jokes, standing ovations and tears.
In terms of legislation, the Senate had its most productive meeting of the semester, passing 12 resolutions, bills and finance bills.
SG passed a finance bill to allocate a maximum of $5,000 from the surplus account to Facility Services to purchase and install four emergency call towers. The executive branch will also allocate $20,000 for the towers, newly-instated SG President Taylor Cox and former President Cody Wells said.
Call towers, different from call boxes, can be custom made for the University. The University call towers will include “sirens, speakers, location tracking, mass communication assistance, flashing lights and cameras.”
Mass communication assistance will serve as an emergency notification system, much like the emergency text message system the University currently uses. The speakers in the towers can announce emergency messages quicker and more efficiently than text messages, said co-author and Graduate School Senator Rachel O’Pry.
“I don’t think you should wait until something [violent] happens,” she said. “There is an overestimation of how safe we are.”
The Senate also passed a finance bill unanimously to allocate $4,000 “to fund a reference center in the Business Education Complex.” The money will go to purchase textbooks, magazines and newspaper subscriptions to be placed in a room in the complex for student use.
Graduating seniors, senators who lost their seat in the election and Wells gave farewell speeches during the meeting.
The students thanked one other for their dedication to the organization and passion for the University.
Newly elected senators were sworn in, along with Cox and new SG Vice President Carrie Hebert.
After hours of business, the meeting was sent into recess before electing a new Senate speaker. The Senate will reconvene today at 5 p.m.
 
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Contact Danielle Kelley at [email protected]