The LSU Faculty Senate discussed revisions to commencement and the possibility of unionizing at its first meeting of the fall semester Thursday.
Faculty Senate resolution 11-11, “Call to Support and Join LSUnited,” urged faculty to support the newly-formed faculty union. 
“The bottom line of this union is to give the faculty a voice,” said Michael Russo, LSUnited co-president and senator.
The resolution was amended to change the terminology in the report from “join” to “support” and was subsequently passed.
“It is about pooling our talents together to create the best university we can,” said Patrick McGee, humanities and social sciences senator and sponsor of the resolution.
In other action, students will be donning new commencement gowns starting in December. The new celebratory garments are purple and made of recycled materials.
“We have attempted to add more gravitas to the commencement regalia,” said Kevin Cope, Faculty Senate president.
Voting on resolution 11-03, a motion to change the start of fall break, was postponed to the October senate meeting. The resolution aims to allow for a week-long Thanksgiving holiday by adjusting the start date of fall break.
 
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Contact Josh Naquin at [email protected]