Senator elections were held during the Associated Student Government (ASG) meeting Tuesday, due to the resignation of off-campus senator junior Kristin Dupont.
Sophomores Nate Koska and Tyler Guyot and junior Andrew Mackin vied for the senator position. The elected senator, Guyot, is an entrepreneurship major and emphasized the proper representation of disabled students in ASG legislation, due to his experience with concussions.
"If I were given a seat in ASG I would focus on writing legislation for the student body as a whole rather than simply focusing on off-campus issues," he said. "For example, I myself am a disability student. I had five concussions within a year, four of those were within the same month. I know from personal experience how difficult it is here for a disability student."
In addition, Guyot said his lack of experience in student government organizations is compensated by his membership with the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the Kappa Alpha Order. He also said ASG will be a beneficial way for him to get more involved on campus and act as the voice of the students.
The meeting continued with a vote on the Increasing the Efficiency of Unused Library Space bill that was presented by senior senators Brittany Murphy and Paige Zenovic last week.
The bill calls for university evaluation of the unused rooms in the third floor and basement of King Library to open more study space for students.
Last week, senators addressed the concern that the bill's authors had yet to speak to library officials before presenting the bill. In response, Murphy and Zenovic explained that they unsuccessfully attempted communication again with the library's representatives, perhaps due to the recent retirement of the Dean of the Library Judith Sessions.
"The Dean of the Library is retiring," Murphy said. "When I asked, they said that this was a difficult time to ask because the people that would be in charge of [these issues] are up in the air. We tried to reach out, and two employees of the library actually said that [this bill] was a good idea."
During the debate of the bill, junior senator Nithya Kumar suggested that ASG postpone the passing the bill to a time where more stability and clarity exists among the library administration.
"Given the fact that the library is going through a large transition this semester, I wonder if it would be beneficial to wait until their leadership transition has been figured out, so you can speak to whoever is in charge," she said.
However, Murphy and Zenovich argued that since the cramped and crowded space in King Library is affecting students now, passing this bill immediately is necessary.
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An overwhelming majority of senate agreed, and the motion passed by 28 in favor, 0 against and 0 abstentions.
The two other resolutions that were on the agenda during this senate meeting, the Off-Campus Organization Act and the Off-Campus Food Specials and Delivery Bill of 2012 were tabled due to their authors' absences. The bills will be voted upon at the next meeting.
Senate will not convene next week due to Thanksgiving Break. The next meeting will be held Nov. 27.
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