The University of Rhode Island student senate addressed high rates of senator absences in the legislative body during their meeting on Wednesday.
17 senators attended Wednesday’s meeting, leaving 28 empty seats. The absences led to a discussion about potential new bylaws regarding senators’ potential for re-election. Senators exceeding five unexcused absences are liable to have their seats removed by the jury, according to student senate bylaws .
“I don’t think [ejected senators] being able to run for re-election for another position would be the best alternative,” Sen. Lynn Sawyer said.
Speaker of the Assembly Lauren Peckham disagreed, citing the effort necessary to run for re-election as an indication of a candidate’s dedication.
“You have to get 25 signatures to rerun, and you have to do your little platform statement and stuff,” Speaker Peckham said. “So it does take effort to rerun.”
The discussion came two weeks after three senators were removed from their positions following excessive absences.
The senate passed a resolution to acknowledge “recent inappropriate conduct” by off campus students. The resolution regards the arrests of 22 URI students in Narragansett on charges of various offenses, including assault of an officer.
The External Affairs Committee addressed the situation due to their work last semester with the town of Narragansett to overturn rent restrictions, Sen. Matthew Cayer said.
The vote passed with one abstention from Sen. Jack Stadtman, who questioned the timing of the resolution.
“The police report came out three weeks ago,” Sen. Stadtman said. “I feel like we’re a little behind.”
A bill was passed to request the faculty senate to give EDC 203: Mental Health First Aid Certification general education outcomes. The goal is to push the course to more students, especially in URI 101 classes, according to Cultural Committee Chair Meilin Reyes.
The bill passed unanimously, and now awaits a vote in the faculty senate to go into effect.
The next student senate meeting will take place on Oct. 16 at 6:30 p.m. in Memorial Union Room 300.
