Ohio U Student Senate condemns controversial Ohio House bills

In its final meeting of the semester, the Ohio University Student Senate passed two bills Wednesday night condemning two proposed bills in the Ohio House of Representatives. 

The first bill passed by Student Senate criticizes Ohio House Bill 480, which would restrict access to abortion within Ohio if passed. The bill demands that HB 480 be voted down for undermining a woman’s right to choice and its use of exclusive language.

“To see this (restrictive abortion bills) in a state like Ohio is really shocking and really dangerous. It's setting a really dangerous precedent for state legislatures all across the country,” Governmental Affairs Commissioner Molly Pennington, the bill’s primary sponsor, said. “Abortion access for women is essential for women’s rights and it shouldn’t be limited. Every woman should have her choice.”

The second bill passed by Senate strongly condemned Ohio House Bill 454. If passed, HB 454 would prohibit children from receiving gender-affirming medical care and procedures. 

The Student Senate bill cites the exclusive language within HB 454 and mental strain the bill could have on transgender and nongender conforming youth.

“The bill (HB 454) is a detriment to the wellbeing of transgender and gender nonconforming youth. It eliminates schools as a possible safe space for them, especially in instances of a lack of familial support. It instutionalizes stigmatization against them when there are already a lot of barriers they already face,” LGBTQIA+ Affairs Commissioner Luvina Cooley, the bill’s primary sponsor, said.  

Both Student Senate bills were passed unanimously. 

10 additional resolutions were also passed by Student Senate. 

The Senate passed four resolutions amending the body’s rules and procedures. The first resolution allows the body to revoke candidates from running for office upon credible allegations of hazing, sexual assault, harassment or cyberbullying. 

The resolution comes after a previous candidate for Senate President rescinded his campaign after multiple sexual assault allegations were made against him on an anonymous Twitter account during the last election cycle. 

The second resolution adds clarification to how SAC money funds campus organizations. The resolution defines what qualifies as a competition, announces a funding cap of $3,000 or $150 per attendee per competition, does not fund gift cards over $25 per person or reimbursements submitted to the SAC before the event and more. 

The second resolution was a center of debate among officers. Some members argue that the change hurts on-campus organizations, while others believe that the Student Senate needs to be more judicious with SAC funding.

“We are here to help the student organizations, but we are not here to fund them completely … It is safe to say that more than half the student orgs on campus have conferences that they can go to, but it is just not reasonable for us to fund all of those,” Student Senate Treasurer Simar Kalkat said. 

The resolution passed with three members voting against it.

The third resolution adds Student Defending Students, a branch of the Senate, to the Student Senate rules and procedures. The fourth resolution allows members of the senate to call meetings if a majority of voting members agree to sign a petition. Finally, a resolution was passed to fund the body’s upcoming leadership committee trip. 

In other business, Cooley and Celine Freetage were added to Student Senate’s Student Trustee Selection Committee. Lee Peters appointed LGBTQIA+ Affairs Senator, Caden Hibbs appointed Vice Commissioner of Environmental Affairs and Graham Stark appointed International Affairs Senator.