Senate Recap 04/12/23

Last Wednesday, the Senate met for the final time this legislative session.

Dylan Noble | dnoble@butler.edu 

With the end of SGA operations on April 17, last Wednesday saw the last Senate meeting of the semester. It lasted for nearly two and a half hours, as dozens of summer grant presentations were heard, an impeachment was conducted, and final matters were wrapped up.

The first orders of business were the hearing of twelve grant presentations, all by student organizations looking to receive grants for summer or early fall operations. These organizations were Commuters at Butler, Students for Justice in Palestine, the Muslim Student Association, Piano Club, Dawgs ‘N’ Dice, Lifting Club, Bookish Bulldogs, LGBTQIA+ Alliance, Advocates 4 Autism, Manuscripts Literary Magazine, Rocket Club, and the South Asian Student Association.

Most of these grant requests were for food and other supplies for events and were granted unanimously by the Senate. One notable request was by Piano Club, asking for $4,172.83 to help fund a summer trip to Xanthes, Greece for an international music festival where members would attend masterclasses, have private lessons, and represent Butler on the international stage.

On the other hand, some grant requests were more controversial and initiated the further discussion. Lifting Club’s request for $2,470.00 to buy new equipment for the HRC sparked discussion over whether this is SGA’s responsibility or not. Many Senators argued that the University should be responsible for this, and President Cade Chezem made the point that the HRC will be buying new equipment over the summer anyway. Ultimately, the Senate voted against granting Lifting Club funds.

The Senate then heard a presentation from Director of Mental Health and Wellbeing Elijah Heslop over a new initiative to put together destress bags for incoming freshmen. These destress bags would include snacks, affirmation cards, and destress toys. This would cost shy of $10,000, and the Senate later approved this initiative unanimously.

The Senate also granted funds to install vending machines in Lilly Hall, passed an amendment for an award honoring current Director of Policy and Procedure Rossell Brewer, and passed several new constitutional amendments codifying DESB procedures and the grant process.

Votes were then held to endorse several clubs that had presented the week prior: Club Baseball, Women’s Ultimate Frisbee Club, Club Disc Golf, Philosophy Club, and Survivors Club.

The Senate then moved to conduct an impeachment, the second of such this year. Presided over by Chief Justice Ryan Crnarich, three Articles of Impeachment against former senator Hadassah Brent were introduced regarding her three unexcused absences during her tenure. The SGA Constitution lists having even one unexcused absence as being an impeachable offense.

The proceedings began with a presentation of evidence by Justice Will Kissel, proving her unexcused absences. Brent followed by presenting her defense.

“This is a direct attack against me,” she said. “[This is] an act to suppress the conversation that I started during the election.” She explained her unexcused absences as “miscommunications,” and insinuated that impeachment is an attempt to silence her as retaliation for her role as Paul Ford II’s running mate in the recent presidential election in which both she and Ford were critical of SGA. She went on to cite that the Constitution only allows current and not past members of SGA to be impeached and that she resigned earlier in the semester for her mental health.

Following Brent’s defense came comments from several Senators. “None of this is a…personal attack and is mainly just for our organization to continue to operate properly,” said Senator Haley Harper. She went on to state that attendance is the most mandatory and most basic part of being a senator, and that this should be enforced. Director Brewer also spoke, citing precedent both in SGA and the US government for impeaching officials after they have already left office.

Nevertheless, the Senate continued onwards, moving to committee chair announcements. Being the end of the year, all committees are wrapping up their work and have little else going on this semester. Student Activities Committee Chair AJ Boes reminded Senators of the upcoming Student Leadership Banquet on the evening of April 17.

Executive Reports came next, where President Chezem, Vice President Meet Patel, Chief Justice Crnarich, and Speaker Reagan Markland all spoke, thanking everybody for their work, and expressing that they will miss SGA after they graduate next month.

The meeting closed out in a celebratory mood, with senators thanking each other for their hard work. The meeting finally adjourned at 9:33 pm. The Senate will reconvene this August with new and returning senators, a new speaker, and a new presidential administration.