The Mr. Florida A&M University case, student activities and student safety were among the issues discussed at Monday’s student senate meeting.
Senate President Ebony Manchion informed the senate during the meeting that Cyrah Hawkins had appealed his case to the Office of Student Activities after his dethroning last week.
On Thursday, the Student Supreme Court voted to remove Hawkins from his position of Mr. FAMU because his grade point average was below 2.8.
Also during the meeting, James Bland, Campus Activities Board chairman, brought new information on the development of student activities.
There is an event for the students to attend every Tuesday, Bland said. Currently, the events are Rattler Cinema and Coming to the Stage. Both events are held on alternating weeks.
Rattler Cinema is currently undergoing some modifications and may be replaced with Blockbuster Tuesday.
On Blockbuster Tuesdays, the activities board will rent out an AMC theater and transport students there to watch a newly released movie.
Bland said not many as students are turning out to Rattler Cinema as expected and thousands of dollars have been invested into this project.
In order to show the films in Lee Hall, a license must be purchased to show the film to large audiences.
The amount of money that will be spent on renting a theater and transporting the students will be equivalent to the cost of Rattler Cinema.
Bland said another advantage of moving the event is that students will be able to eat in the theater as opposed to being restricted of any food or drink in Lee Hall.
“I believe that when someone is doing a good job you should tell them. You are breaking new ground and enhancing student life,” Senate President Pro-Tempore Mellori Lumpkin said to Bland.
Nikkita Houston, a sophomore nursing student from Tampa, expressed her concerns about safety.
Houston said the lack of safety has now increased, and it is more dangerous for young women to walk on campus because there are no lights in areas like the dirt parking lot behind the recently opened recreation center.
She also said many people have tripped and fallen due to the high number of potholes surrounding the recreation center.
Late classes like hip hop aerobics, which has a high female attendance, lead to many young women walking back to their dorm or car in the dark, and some women walk alone.
Houston encourages young women who walk by themselves to walk back in groups and to not listen to their iPods so they can better listen to their surroundings.
Walking without headphones will reduce sudden attacks such as rapes or pistol whippings, she said.
The senate responded by promising to look into the situation and to call her next week. They also thanked her for bringing this issue to their attention.
Among the numerous speakers at the meeting, two representatives from Florida State University’s Black Student Union were in attendance.
The two came before the senate to appeal for unity among the two universities and Tallahassee Community College.
“My goal is to unite FAMU and FSU campuses so that we can build a better relationship,” said FSU senator Cornell Hamilton-Paul, a second-year finance student.