The Arkansas State University Student Government Association (SGA) tabled two out of three of their resolutions, passing only one. 

The bill passed was for the graduation cords for the senators. Vice president Micayla McGowen, a junior marketing major from East End, Arkansas, presented the amendment. 

McGowen said that the reason she wanted to make amendments to the bill was because of how unfair the requirements listed were to the senators. The amendment to the original bill would allow graduating individuals who are not currently serving in any SGA position but made a “significant” contribution through SGA would have the right to to receive and wear the cords during graduation. 

“The requirements were that for you to receive the graduation cord, the executive board basically voted on it and they made it to where you received it or not, and to me, that just didn’t seem fair,” McGowen said.

She said that it is important to recognize both the individuals who work both behind and in front of the scenes. 

“Some students are very good at bringing things to life and some students are very good at working behind the scenes,” the vice president said. 

One of the bills tabled at the meeting was SR 23/34-01. This bill deals with a housing scholarship. Garrett Partain, a senior political science major with a minor in Spanish from Lepanto, Arkansas, presented this bill. He is the president pro-temp for SGA.

Partain’s bill was created to be a housing scholarship awarded to students in need of further housing assistance. Currently, the senate has decided to do a trial period which would cover the costs for students who have to stay on campus during the extended stay breaks.

This bill has been in the works since the last academic school year. 

However, the senate was unable to decide what breaks to include in the current bill, with it being voted to ultimately table the discussion until the next meeting. 

“It’s a process, especially considering we are all students who have full time credit hours. It’s a long process,” Partain said.

Partain said when something gets tabled, it will come up at the next meeting.

 “In real life, senates tabling a discussion kind of kills a resolution or kills a bill because someone has to bring it back up. In SGA we use modified rules, so we can’t just kill bills, we have to actually talk about them.” 

Partain said he hopes at the next meeting the bill will be passed. 

Rachel Mooneyham, a junior strategic marketing major from Jonesboro sponsored the bill “Traditions Without Borders.” She is the chief of staff for SGA. 

The bill would pair up international students with domestic students, faculty and staff during holiday meals such as Thanksgiving or Christmas. 

Mooneyham said Taron Robinson, the director of international programs, has been someone who helped her work through the logistics and policies of having faculty or staff host at their home. 

“Discussing the things that we need to hash out, I’ll probably talk to Taron again, to get those things added in there that they wanted amended and then hopefully present it and hopefully it gets passed.”  

Senator Jonathan Schaufler, a junior nursing major from Salem, Arkansas, has been working on a resolution about adding lactation rooms to buildings on campus. 

Schaufler said the experience of breastfeeding is intimate and providing lactation rooms gives the mothers a space to comfortably feed their children. 

“A lot of these nursing mothers don’t have a place to go. I know they have covers and things but it is a very exposed procedure and a very intimate process to do out in the open.” 

Schaufler said that there will be something that will add extra privacy in the lactation room, such as walls or curtains.

“Traditions Without Borders” and Partain’s housing scholarship will be revisited at the next SGA meeting Nov. 28. 

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