Student Senate will vote on student participation in the voting process

Student Senate made progress in their debate over student participation with a poll over how to best implement the idea during their Wednesday meeting in Walter Hall.The Senate spent the past two weeks deciding if students should have the ability to vote on major issues the Senate faces. To move forward, they decided its members should vote on this issue with a poll that will include three “tiers.”The first tier of the poll, open only to Senate members, will ask whether the members want student participation. Another tier will ask how members want student votes to be tallied, either by percent or individual  A final tier will ask for what percent of the total decision student votes will count.“We are just presenting it as an option right now, and when you fill out the form you will be able to say what you think does make sense,” Hannah Clouser, treasurer of Student Senate, said.Senate also agreed to give funding to the LGBT Center’s PRIDE Week, to be held later this semester. Gabby Bacha, president of Student Senate, reminded the members that they had already budgeted money for this event.In addition to voting for these two items, the University Life Commission explained how they are still working on several projects. The projects include getting uptown merchants to accept Bobcat Cash, creating a food bank for undergraduate students and implementing several changes to Alden Library.  One major plan centers on keeping more floors of the library open longer, particularly the fourth floor. Other plans include renovations to add more natural lighting to rooms throughout the library, update the furniture and add more gender-neutral bathrooms.