Student Senate passes resolution urging university to take proactive role in athlete's mental health
At last week's Student Senate meeting, senators discussed the mental health of student athletes, expansion of gender neutral housing and renting the Water Hall rotunda.
[dropcap txtcolor="#234a83" style="dropcap1"]S[/dropcap]tudent Senate passed a resolution at its meeting Feb. 14 demanding Ohio University accept greater responsibility for the mental health of student athletes. “By putting this bill forward, athletic administration and academic administration can come together to work on a solution for programming and for resources that will be specialized for athletes,” Sen. Emily Deering, who was the primary sponsor of the resolution, said.The resolution had strong support and passed almost unanimously.“You’d be dumb if you didn’t pass this,” Amal Afyouni, Senator-At-Large, said.
Gender neutral housing
Senate also passed a bill supporting the expansion of gender neutral housing. Some senators were concerned the university may not have the budget to make necessary renovations, but Dean of Students Jenny Hall-Jones said Housing and Residence Life has its own fund for construction and renovation.
Walter Hall rental
Senators also debated a resolution to rent the rotunda of Walter Hall for the live announcement of Student Senate victories. Some senators argued that the money was better spent on something else and that the results could simply be announced on social media at no cost. However, the resolution ended up passing with a majority of support.
Other business
Other resolutions passed during the meeting consisted mostly of edits and additions to the Student Senate Constitution and one resolution to purchase film rights and pizza for an International Affairs Commission event, which passed. Edits to the Constitution include:
- Creating a mission statement for the organization
- Creating new sections outlining the Senate’s organization, conduct and ethics, and legislative processes
- Amending the existing referendum section of the Constitution
The Senate also passed a resolution to update the duties of the Women’s Affairs Commission and to better outline the abilities of commissions in general.Senate President Landen Lama began the meeting with a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the school shooting that morning in Parkland, Florida.