The Faculty Senate voted unanimously Thursday afternoon to pass a resolution to keep the campus a “firearm-free zone” despite any changes proposed to the state’s constitution.
A bill regarding gun-carrying laws in Louisiana made its way through the House of Representatives’ Criminal Justice Committee on Wednesday and is set to move to the House floor.
The resolution was only read once, but former Faculty Senate President William Daly requested the Senate suspend the rules and waive the second reading.
Faculty Senate President Kevin Cope said the University has been exempt from state law before and the proposed policy is feasible.
Cope said the University Staff Senate is on board with the resolution and the next step will be to present the recommendation to the Office of Academic Affairs.
The Senate also heard from Mandi Lopez, associate professor of veterinary surgery for the School of Veterinary Medicine and chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Plus/Minus Grading.
Lopez submitted the group’s final report on the resolution to implement a plus/minus grading system at the University. The group recommended that the Senate approve the resolution, stating in its report that “the use of a suffix grading system is consistent with current standards in the majority of peer universities considered.”
The Senate will vote on the resolution at its first meeting in the fall.
In other business, the Senate voted to kill a resolution that recommended banning the use of cell phones and excessive noise in academic buildings with a 22-12 vote.
During the debate, several members brought up concerns of how enforceable the policy would be and whether or not it violated students’ rights.
The resolution’s sponsor, communication studies Assistant Professor Graham Bodie, proposed using signs to deter students from causing distractions in hallways. Many members wondered aloud whether students would acknowledge the signs at all.
“The whole purpose of this resolution really wasn’t an attempt … to hire a police force to go around and slap hands or give people demerits,” Bodie said. “It was simply to create a culture of respect at this University.”
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Contact Rachel Warren at [email protected]