Student Government back in full swing
The Illinois Student Government had its first meeting of the semester last night. Among the discussions was a recommendation to support the use of medical marijuana in University Housing.
August 31, 2017
The Illinois Student Government held its first meeting of the new semester Tuesday night. Newly hired Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Dr. Danita Brown Young joined the assembly and gave opening remarks – welcoming new senators and congratulating returning senators on their legislative achievements.
“[The Senate leadership] really gets the notion of shared government. We all play a key role in the success of this institution,” Brown Young said. Addressing the senators, she said, “[These] are very strong-willed individuals.” The comment was met with laughter from the assembly, which often engages in passionate debate.
The meeting introduced six resolutions including a recommendation to support allowing medical marijuana in University Housing. Currently, both the Student Code and University Housing rules prohibit the use of medical marijuana products. The resolution was referred to committee for further discussion.
Also referred to committee was a recommendation that the Committee on University Statutes and Senate Procedures and the Committee on Internal Affairs review how seats the Illinois Student Senate and Faculty-Student Senate are apportioned.
Senate seats are available for representatives of undeclared students in DGS, Engineering, and Business, but not for LAS. Kendall Brooks, co-author of the resolution, said this confused his run for a senate seat last semester as an undeclared sophomore in LAS.
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A recap was then given on the Association of Big Ten Students (ABTS) conference held at UIUC this past summer. The ABTS conference brought together student governments from across the Big Ten schools, with over 70 delegates attending. According to Senator and ABTS campus liaison Andrianna Kurzenberger, senior in LAS, the conference cost ISG less than half of what was budgeted and was an overall success.
ISG also held an info night for potential new members earlier in the evening, with around 40 students in attendance. Another info night will be held next Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Pine Lounge in Illini Union.
