Student Senate Speaker Brandon Smithurged all senators to act as ‘watchdogs’ over the Universityadministration at Wednesday night’s Senate meeting, the first ofthe semester.
    Smith told senators they need to usetheir power of oversight to truly represent the student body.
    He said senators need to look intoissues, such as the lack of living space on campus that is forcingstudents to live in residence hall kitchenettes.
    Smith also said the Senate committee forStudents Rights and Welfare will address the removal of thecrosswalk in front of Johnston Hall.
    In an effort to improve the flow oftraffic along Fieldhouse Drive last fall, Smith said parking andtraffic officials removed the crosswalk in front of Johnston Hall– the building that houses the Office of Disability Services.
    ”This is a slap in the face to studentswith disabilities,” Smith said Wednesday night.
    Smith said the point of utilizing theiroversight capabilities is to raise awareness about studentconcerns.
    ”This is not a witch-hunt, this is notpersonal,” Smith said. “This is a valiant effort to seek answers toconcerns students care about on a day-to day-basis.”
    During the meeting, the Senate inductedseven new senators and accepted four resignations.
    Speaker Pro-Tempore Theresa Lobianco andSen. Eric Melancon introduced a bill to create the College CouncilPresidents’ Commission. The standing committee would bring allcollege councils together to amend the council’s constitutions andfacilitate better communication among the councils.
    Student Government President Brad Golsonsaid some councils currently are active, but others simply areelected, then do not accomplish many tasks.
    This committee would be a way to bringthe councils together and make sure they are representing the bestinterests of their respective college, Golson said.
    Lobianco and Melancon also introduced abill dealing with the re-allocation of funds for collegecouncils.
    Instead of the councils receiving moneybased on their college enrollment, the bill seeks to match theamount of money students of the college pay for SG fees, and put itback toward the college council’s budget.
    Both bills, as well as two other billsregarding internal SG matters, will go to committee for review.
    The next Senate meeting is scheduled forSept. 1 at 6:30 p.m.