The 42nd student senate met Monday night to discuss upcoming events, new appointments and goals for the spring 2013 semester.
During the meeting, the 2013 Electoral Commission Executive Board swore in seven members.
The senate approved a new point system and new procedures for spring elections. Voters will now be allowed to wear campaign material inside the precincts. T-shirts and buttons are no longer banned.
Electoral Commissioner Jalisa Brown, a fourth-year biology pre-med student from Miami, said this changed occurred due to the hassle.
“As a candidate and an average voter, I understand how much of a hassle it may be to try and find a jacket to cover up your shirt or button,” Brown said. “Also, in a general election on a national, state or local scale, you can wear campaign materials. You just can’t shout out who you support.”
Campaign week will commence Feb. 19. In case of a runoff, a second day of voting will take place Feb. 21.
Other topics of the evening included a proposal to enhance the university’s mobile application, other new appointments and an inter-room visitation referendum. An EIT representative is looking to implement a mobile payment system for students through FAMU’s mobile application. Senate President Tonnette Graham said students can give feedback about this proposal on Friday during the “Senate on the Set” event.
Charles Garner, a third-year economics student from Atlanta and former secretary of Academic Affairs, has been named the attorney general.
Garner said it was an honor to have received the appointment and that he will work to ensure any changes made are in the best interest of the student body and consistent and clear for all to interpret.
Sen. Stanley Hardy, a fourth-year business administration student from Orlando, authored the bill inter-room visitation referendum. Inter-room visitation has been proposed during many administrations but has never passed.
Florida A&M is not the only school without inter-room visitation. Most HBCUs still have such policies in place from their origins in the 19th and 20th centuries. Hardy feels that the policy should change, and now is the perfect time.
“I want to hear from the students because it is one of the concerns that continuously comes up every year,” Hardy said. “Because I am an RA (resident assistant), students always ask why this policy hasn’t been changed. It is one of the main reasons why students don’t want to stay on campus.”