ASG talks elections, alcohol and sexual assault policies

During last week's Associated Student Government (ASG) meeting, Miami University's Director of Community Standards Ann James introduced her thoughts on new potential policies regarding sexual assault while ASG president Meghan Murtagh introduced a new Miami Initiative Team (MIT) to de-stigmatize binge drinking.

Additionally, ASG passed a bill extending the term for a senator-at-large.

James said that while there are mandated policies regarding alcohol and dishonestly violations -- which state that students are suspended after two infractions --there is no such rule for sexual assault. James is new to the university, but she wants to work to change this.

Murtagh's MIT will focus on denormalizing binge drinking by reshaping the culture at the grass-roots level through a partnership with Talawanda Middle School.

After discussing these potential changes, senators discussed changing the term limit of a senator-at-large.

A senator-at-large is a position in ASG held by a student who does not represent a specific district or academic division. Senators are elected this way when no one runs for a particular seat.

The bylaws originally stated that a senator-at-large would serve until the end of the semester in which they were elected. The authors of the proposed bill argued that with only a few weeks left in the semester, it doesn't make sense to end their term right after they are elected, so they decided to extend the term to the end of the academic year.

ASG eventually passed a piece of legislation called the Senator at Large Tenure Act (SALT), which lengthened the terms limits for a senator-at-large.

Since the 6th district seat -- representing East Quad, including Collins, Dennison, Dorsey, McBride and, Symmes halls and Miami Inn -- was not filled in ASG's recent special election, an election will occur next Tuesday, Nov. 13 to fill the empty seat.

berryrd@miamioh.edu