Student Senate adopts two resolutions appointing delegates to commissions

Ohio University's Student Senate convened Wednesday night to pass resolutions that appointed various new committee members.Resolution 1617-05 appointed Kentisha Dinham, Alison Harper and Abigail Koehl as voting member delegates to the Women’s Affairs Commission for the 2016-2017 academic year.Resolution 1617-06 placed Austin Salyers, College of Health Sciences and Professions Senator, and John Schlosser, South Green Senator, as members of the internal budget committee.“All of our diversity commissions have delegates that sit under them,” said Student Senate President Hannah Clouser. “It's important to fill the seats as quickly as possible, so we reach out to other groups to get people to be appointed to them."In addition to passing resolutions, Senate heard from Mac Stricklen, the University Ombudsperson, who explained that his office is often neglected on campus.As ombudsperson, Stricklen is responsible for serving as a liaison between students and faculty. His other tasks include clarifying rights under university policy, mediating conflicts in ongoing relationships and investigating the facts surrounding an incident or situation.Stricklen stressed that he does not negotiate for any party involved in an incident or situation, nor does he force a solution on anyone. He pointed out that he is merely a middleman to invoke conversation between two or more individuals.Another conversation that took place was in regards to pronouns and misgendering.  Senators expressed the importance of identifying people by preferred pronouns. To highlight this commitment, senators will now have pronouns listed on their nametags to prevent misgendering and spark conversation about proper gender identification.Anna Neawedde, the LGBTQA Affairs Commissioner, explained the importance of taking such a consideration in regards to pronouns when it comes to meeting new people."When this comes up in conversation for me, it's typically with someone whose gender is non-conforming,” said Neawedde. “If you’re unsure then it is OK to ask them. You don't want to assume that someone is using a pronoun that isn’t fit for them."Last year, Senate made progress with pronoun recognition by allowing students to select preferred ones for class rosters. Student Senate meets every Wednesday in Walter 235 at 7:15 p.m.