The University of Rhode Island student senate passed a resolution to acknowledge the inappropriate behavior of students in response to 22 students being charged at an off campus party during their general assembly meeting on Oct. 9.
Two URI students at the party were arrested for assault of an officer, with trials scheduled for October, according to WPRI .
The resolution was put forward by the senate’s external affairs committee, which oversees issues off campus that affect students, chaired by Kendal McCloskey.
Making a statement denouncing the recent student behavior off campus was important due to the work put in last year to repair the reputation of students in the community, Sen. Matthew Cayer said. That negative perception of students made it difficult to rent houses off campus.
“Now we’re back at square one for the most part,” Cayer said in the Oct. 9 meeting.
Speaker of the Assembly Lauren Peckham explained to senators that a resolution is the student senate’s way of saying the behavior of the arrested students doesn’t reflect the opinion or behavior of the student body.
“We are condemning that kind of misconduct,” Peckham said in the meeting. “It’s kind of just putting the vibes out there that it’s not appropriate.”
A resolution made by the student senate was a written statement that reflects their opinion as a voice for the student body, according to Peckham.
Senators at the meeting questioned the timing of the resolution, as almost a month had passed since the student arrests. The student senate wasn’t prepared to make a resolution that early in the school year, Cayer said.
In the resolution, the senate offered their plan going forward.
The student senate hopes to continue to build strong bonds with local residents, law enforcement and governments,” the resolution said.
Last year, the focus of the external affairs committee was the repeal of the three person housing ordinance, Cayer said.
“We went to the [Rhode Island] State House, testified for some of [housing ordinance reversal] and the bill got passed,” Cayer said in the meeting. “But then some students go and do this.”
The student senate passed the resolution 18-0-1.