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November 5th Student Senate Meeting

  • Writer:  Hot  spot
    Hot spot
  • Nov 13, 2019
  • 6 min read

By: Alexis Butler 

On Nov. 5th in the John. F. Knight Conference Room on the second floor of the John Garrick Hardy Center, the university’s Student Government Association (SGA) Student Senate met. However, this meeting was very different from previous meetings. The first item on the new business section of the agenda was a presentation of receipts from the SGA Executive Treasurer, Aliyah Muhammad. The Senate made a request for Muhammad to bring the receipts for all SGA transactions for the current semester. This was due to allegations of the misuse of funds, which were allegedly spent at Magic City Classic, when the operating budget for the 2019-20 academic year had not been approved. According to the SGA Constitution, Article IV, Section 13, “The Senate has the final authority in the adoption of the SGA Annual Operating Budget as proposed by the Executive Council. A two-thirds (2/3) vote of a quorum is required to authorize the Annual Budget. Budget amendments require a majority vote of a quorum.” Muhammed refused to show the Senate receipts, due to the SGA budget not being approved. Sen. Dax Craig, the Chair of the Senate’s Appropriations and Allocations Committee, made an announcement that he and his committee were not able to meet with Muhammed to approve the budget, and therefore, the budget could not be presented before the full senate. Muhammad said “According to the Constitution, I can not disclose that information if the whole budget has not been approved.” After a comprehensive review of the SGA Constitution, members of The Hornet Tribune staff could not verify this provisions that Muhammad said was contained in the constitution. Sen. Brea Williams then asked if Muhammad could provide a screenshot of all SGA transactions. Muhammad denied the request, and continued to state that the Senate could not see the transaction receipts until the operating budget was approved. While Muhammad was being questioned, Autumn Pate, the SGA attorney general, unexpectedly stepped in and demanded that the conversation be ended. She proceeded to pull Muhammad from the Senate floor in an attempt to force the Senate to end the discussion. “That’s the end of the discussion, it has ended!” Pate insisted. Student Body President David Whitlow then stepped in to proclaim, “I have answers.” Attorney General Pate responded, “We don’t have to disclose this information. There are no receipts, there’s no budget for the semester.” Whitlow then got up to calm Attorney General Pate down and request speaking privileges from the Senate. Sen. Williams denied Whitlow speaking privilege, and instead, yielded the remainder of her time to Trentqual Rhone, the Senate President Pro-Tempore. Rhone then gathered the meeting, by saying “There is a legislative order that will be followed and if you feel as though you cannot follow that order, you can leave! That goes for everyone!” Whitlow was then allowed the floor as he stated that during Magic City Classic there were no funds used from the SGA’s budget. “The budget has not been passed, therefore, no money was used from the account, there are no receipts because no money was used from the account,” Whitlow said. Sen. Craig refuted President Whitlow’s claim and proceeded to disclose a previous email conversation between himself and Treasurer Muhammad. He then passed around documents which proved that Muhammad was aware of funds potentially being taken out of the SGA’s unapproved budget. “I want everybody to note that the Student Body Treasurer was fully aware that the money was being taken out of the SGA’s budget,” Sen. Craig said. Sen. Craig then detailed a cell phone call that he had received from President Whitlow the night before. According to Sen. Craig, President Whitlow stated that Vice President of Student Affairs, Davida Haywood, Ph.D, told him that clothing purchases were not coming out of the SGA budget. Sen. Craig then quoted President Whitlow who allegedly stated, “I didn’t give a damn where it [the Magic City Classic funds] came from, I just wanted my two suits.” Sen. Williams then, for the record, had Sen. Craig recite his contact information. Wiliams then stated to Treasurer Muhammad, “Why did you even run for Treasurer? That’s an open ended question, I don’t need a response. It’s the Student Body who deserves to know...” Senate President Pro-Tempore Rhone then moved to end the discussion, which prohibited a rebuttal from the executive officers. Following the agenda, as printed, Sens. Gem Richardson and Jaylan Brown presented a resolution to inquire about the instillation of gender neutral restrooms. According to Sens. the university has approved to replace the family restroom, located in the John Garrick Hardy Student Center, with a gender neutral restroom. However, signs have not been replaced yet. In essence, this resolution is a “call to action” to ensure that the signs are replaced. Sen. Nastazia Heholt presented a resolution that would require the College of Business Administration (COBA) to provide its students with an accurate schedule for the availability of services in the computer labs. “Due to the fact that these lab computers have very important software on them, that most students do not normally have access to, it is imperative that the students in COBA are able to access the computer labs to do their assignments in a timely manner,” Holt said. Sen. Brittany Hume-Dawson presented a bill to request the College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) to publish major/minor curriculums online. This act is to give STEM majors and minors full access to their curriculum guidelines and to “provide true guidance to students rather than simply acting as schedulers,” Hume-Dawson explained. After the presentation of those bills and the passage of constitutional revisions, Xaviera Page was confirmed as an Associate Justice. When asked why she chose to become a member of the Judicial Branch, Page stated that “He [Chief Justice, Joshua Wilkinson] inspired me to join the Judicial Branch in order to gain experience for law school and to learn from great mentors.” Page also mentioned that as an Associate Justice she wanted to implement many things to change the environment on our campus.” Following the confirmation, Senate President Pro-Tempore Rhone read a letter that was directed towards the entire SGA. “When I say the ‘SGA,’ I am referring to each and every one of us because, in spite of how anyone feels about the next, the SGA is one organization and in the eyes of many, each branch is a reflection of the next. The executive, legislative, and judicial branches exist to check and balance each other, and for those who don’t know, that means to hold each other accountable...” Rhone went on to address the entire SGA to request a shift in direction. “The SGA this year has been extremely selfish in its practice of student governance. It seems as though we have traded in our duty, which is activism on behalf of the student body, for fake outrage and clout chasing. We plan all of these activities and social events, but what is being done to address the issues. We claim to work, but what do we, as an organization, have to show for it ... the streets were paved by the City of Montgomery. The grant was given to housing, not the SGA. The lights were a university accomplishment, and not one that should be given to the SGA.” During the F.T.G.O.T.O, Former President, Jaylon Pickett spoke words of wisdom. He revealed that the university’s procedure varies with each administration. Pickett claimed that last year, Dr. Haywood told the executive officers that the university would not purchase clothes for them and that they could use their 20-hour employment checks to purchase their own clothing. “The 20-hour checks that the university distributes are supposed to go to such things like that,” Pickett said. Pickett then informed everyone that the SGA would have to pay the university back for event expenses. “Hopefully, in January, when the bill comes back to SGA, regarding the funds utilized, the accounts are not in deficit. Because then, the Constitution will be in breach.” Sen. Dawson ended the meeting by reminding those involved with SGA of their responsibilities. “As students, it is our civic ASU duty and our right to inquire,” Sen. Hume-Dawson said. “This is not a personal attack. We endeavor to be on one page and move on one accord. We all must be vigilant in abiding by our governing legislation.”


 
 
 

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