The Florida A&M University 54th Student Senate met on Monday, in which they confirmed the Fall Election schedule and discussed efforts to progress as an organization post-Hurricane Helene.
Student Body President Loryn May addressed the postponement of SGA week due to Hurricane Helene. President May stated that the SGA Inauguration, Transfer Student Mixer, and other planned events will be rescheduled to the week of October 21 through October 25.
Following, the Student Senate received Electoral Commissioner Regan Wilson to propose the updated Fall Election schedule. Wilson proposed an updated Fall Election season beginning on Tuesday, October 1, and ending on Tuesday, October 15, or Thursday, October 17, if there is a need for a run-off election.
This updated election schedule came into question due to the amount of time students would have to declare candidacy. The original campaign schedule allowed students five days to declare candidacy, and the new schedule only permitted two days.
Commissioner Wilson expressed that since the declaration period had already begun before Hurricane Helene and a healthy number of students had already submitted their candidacy, the Electoral Commission would not be proposing the same amount of days to declare at this point in the schedule.
Commissioner Wilson expressed that adding another day for the Declaration of Candidacy would delay the internal process of the Electoral Commission and that they can not begin their operations until they have the final number of students running for positions and their contact information to streamline communication. This sparked a very spirited conversation concerning the time the Electoral Commission has had and how much grace is given to students who could not complete the form due to evacuation communications and lack of power.
Some opinions expressed that students passionate about running for student leadership would have typically already completed the Declaration form. There was also an overall stance from multiple parties not to halt campaign season since we are approaching week three regarding the delay and the traditional timeline of student elections.
On the contrary, Senator Jonathan McClover and Judicial and Rules Chairwoman Nissa Phillip equally expressed the lack of grace given to students who wouldn’t be allocated the same amount of time they had before the storm. The goal was to reach a compromise that would best serve the students as well as the Electoral Commission; however, there was a variety of opinions in the room and amongst the students in the gallery.
Ultimately, the student Senate voted in favor of this new schedule with 12 votes in favor and 4 votes against it. Chairwoman Philip expressed her disappointment in the Senate for prioritizing the schedule of elections over the interest of the students.
During the Lobbying and Speakers Forum, Dr. Shelby Chipman, director of bands at FAMU, spoke on behalf of the band program to receive more funding for the academic year. Their proposed budget requested $125,000. However, they were only afforded $72,000, which has shown significant effects in covering the travel costs of the band and instrument repairs.
The Senate expressed their understanding of this reality, as the university band is integral to the FAMU community. These concerns expressed by Dr. Chipman will be considered as funds allocated in Activity and Service Fee budgets and in future budget planning sessions.
The meeting concluded with a resolution bill presented by Senator Kennedy Williams and Chairman Da’Jon Newhouse. This bill is designed to serve as a unified standard that the Student Government Association will implement as they push for political engagement and voter participation this November.
The bill has been placed under second reading and will be discussed further at the next meeting. The Senate will meet again next Monday in the Senate chambers.