Student Senate set to increase ranks

Senate Chamber before their weekly meeting 
Photo Submitted by Austin Dixon.

The FAMU Student Senate met Monday to discuss some business. During the meeting, the senate was able to confirm freshman senator Shanel Brown, and chief justice Darryl Williams was able swear her into office. The vote for her confirmation was 19-0 with  three senators abstaining.

Her confirmation allowed the senate to fill one of the three open vacancies in the freshman senator body. There are now six of eight freshman senators filled.

“Delayed never denied; when I lost in the fall is what people would tell me to lift my spirits. When I kept staying around SGA because I knew I was passionate about it and coming back in the spring and still being around. Having the opportunity to apply for the seat,” said Brown.

Immediately following the confirmation of Brown there was the first reading of the amendment to the student body statutes. The first reading was led by Senator Xavier McClinton, judicial and rules (J&R) chairmen.

“When you try to limit their representation to three people as opposed to eight as everybody else has, I just don’t think that it’s fair I don’t think that it’s consistent with anything. So, we just want to make sure as J&R chairman as well as chief justice we just want to make sure that everything is equal and everything is fair and straightforward,” McClinton said.

The amendment would increase the number of graduate senators from three to eight, and the changes would also outline the definition of a graduate student. This would allow professional and law students to participate. The inclusion of the professional students allows for professional MBA candidates and doctor of pharmacy candidates to serve in the student seante.

“We went down to Orlando and took a look at the composition and decided increasing it to eight senators would be effective to make sure that the graduate students along with professional students get an equal opportunity to be a senator, said Rochard Moricette, senate president and newly elected student body president.

The presented amendment was voted on by the student body in this past election season. The student body overwhelmingly approved the amendment by a 1,528 to 92 vote.

Jontay Manigault, a graduate senator, said, “As you all saw in the elections, we are expanding it to eight graduate seats. This is important because now it has transparency across the entire board. Currently, there are eight seats for all classes except graduate who has three.”

The second reading will take place next week.