The Student Government Senate passed each bill and resolution presented in Wednesday’s meeting, the most notable of which urged and requested the NFL to reconsider the penalties imposed on New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton.
University Center for Freshman Year Senator Christian Glorioso authored the resolution asking for leniency in Payton’s punishment for the Saints’ bounty program, which was based on the House Concurrent Resolution No. 50 written by state Representative Cameron Henry, R-Metairie.
Glorioso said Payton’s penalty was too harsh, and University students should show support for Payton because of the positive economic impact the Saints have on the state.
The resolution was the most widely debated of the evening, drawing almost 30 minutes of debate from other senators who were concerned about the resolution’s timeliness, ethical implications and relevance to SG.
“This was meant to be a light-hearted break from the heavy debate we’ve been having over the past few weeks,” Glorioso said, appearing exhausted from the spark the resolution ignited.
The Senate eventually passed the resolution with 54 percent in favor.
The Senate also passed a bill designed to amend the Senate rules of order to revise the standing Senate committees. The six-page bill was the work of nine Senators led by College of Humanities and Social Sciences Senator Jacob Ecker over the course of four weeks. The bill creates six standing Senate committees, with the goal of enhancing efficiency.
 
“We wanted to ensure all committees have equal amounts of relevance, so no committee dominates any other,” said Senate Speaker Aaron Caffarel, an author on the bill.
The bill passed unanimously.
The Senate also passed resolutions to support the North Gate Fest Fun Run in the fall, to create an SG first-year student caucus and to amend the SG bylaws regarding the financial surplus account.
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Contact Emily Herrington at [email protected]