The Student Assembly (SA) of the Undergraduate Government of Boston College introduced and two resolutions related to the group’s operations at its weekly meeting Tuesday evening. When motioned to vote, the “Resolution Concerning Regular Committee Updates” was unanimously passed, while the “Resolution Concerning an Absent Co-Sponsorship Vote” was not passed.
The Resolution Concerning Regular Committee Updates was sponsored by Madeleine McCullough, MCAS ’20, and co-sponsored by Samuel Szemerenyi, MCAS ’20. The resolution calls for the executive vice president (or Pro Tempore) to begin the first meeting of every month by requiring committee chairs to review the accomplishments and goals for their respective committees.
The resolution noted that a majority of the SA would be required to move the summaries to another week during the month if other resolutions took precedence over them.
Overall, the resolution was largely supported during the questioning and debate period.
“I think the passing of this resolution would be a very positive way to start the new year,” said Grace Keating, MCAS ’19.
The Resolution Concerning an Absent Co-Sponsorship Vote was sponsored by Samuel Szemerenyi, MCAS ’20, and co-sponsored by Madeleine McCullough, MCAS ’20. The resolution states that when voting members of the SA are absent from meetings in which a resolution that they co-sponsor is voted on, the sponsor of the resolution would act as their proxy in favor of the resolution during the voting period, so long as the executive vice president deems this an excused absence.
“The whole point of Student Assembly is to debate,” said Alex Kontopanos, CSOM ’18. “Minds can be changed during that time.”
Aneeb Sheikh, MCAS ’20, agreed with Kontopanos and added that a co-sponsor’s opinion could change after hearing arguments from other senators during a meeting. Caroline Monnes, MCAS ’19, said that it would be most fair not to have a special entity of this type.
Some other concerns mentioned by the SA were that this is not the right time to pass a resolution of this nature, and that if this resolution were passed, there would be an added incentive to miss SA meetings.
“I’m trying to address the fact that co-sponsorship right now doesn’t really have any tangible effect,” Szemerenyi said. “If this resolution were passed, it would then give the co-sponsor that added weight [during the voting period].”
Featured Image by Samantha Karl / Heights Staff
