SGA does not pass amendment at meeting on Monday

Student Government Association met on Monday and had their final discussion on the possibility of amending the student constitution. The section of the constitution under consideration currently reads, "The right to vote and to freely participate in student organization elections shall not be denied on account of race, religion, creed, sex or national origin." The amendment would add sexual orientation to the end of the list. In order for the amendment to pass, two-thirds of the senate must vote yes. If the amendment passed the Senate, it would then go to the student body for a vote.

"Unless your constituents are pushing you to do this, I have a hard time saying we should throw Student Government's political clout at this issue," Emilee Hargis, SGA treasurer, said.

"When Kevin Magnan went over the list of pros and cons from the university, one of the cons there was we are more reactive than we are proactive," said Nick Maddock, one of the sponsors of the amendment and senator for the College of Business. "I think right here is a pretty large example of when we can be proactive, we can be proactive, instead of waiting until it is a major issue."

Kevin Magnan is the student representative to the Board of Regents.

After the Senate's discussion, they voted on the proposed amendment. The amendment failed at a vote of eight senators voting yes, and 29 senators voting no.

Also discussed at the meeting was the upcoming events SGA is involved in. At 4 p.m. on Wednesday in the University Center, the Dining Services Advisory Committee will meet. If students attend, they can talk with Chartwells' managers about Chartwells services and anything they would like to see more or less of on campus.

There are two Frequent Flyer events on March 12. The events are at the Southeast baseball game at 2 p.m., and the Southeast Symphony Orchestra concert at 7:30 p.m. at the River Campus.

Applications for SGA for next year are due on Wednesday for executive board and March 25 for student senators.