Student Senate voted down legislation Tuesday requiring senators to attend two multicultural and special interests meetings or events each semester.
The so-called “diversity requirement” failed to meet approval from the Senate by one vote – a vote that could have been voiced by business school senator and co-author of the legislation, Robert Quach. Quach missed the vote because he was asleep on the couch outside the meeting.
The proposed legislation, authored by Dedman II Senator Asad Rahman, Senate Diversity chair Morgan Gaskin, Vice President-elect Lyndsey Hummert and Quach, was a rehash of former legislation dropped from senator requirements two years ago after 11 Senators were removed after failing to meet attendance standards.
The initial legislation received a negative recommendation from the Senate Executive Committee over concerns that the bureaucracy involved in recording and enforcing such a requirement would be overwhelming.
To address this, Student Body President Dustin Odham, Student Body Vice President Britt Moen and Student Body Secretary Thomas Kincaid (members of the Executive Committee) presented an amendment to the legislation outlining the process by which the vice president and diversity chair would determine what events would be considered appropriate under the new legislation. Senate passed the amendment, but the final legislation vote failed to meet a two-thirds majority.
There was also Senate dissent on whether groups deemed “diverse” would find the label offensive and if requiring senators to attend these meetings or events really was a step toward diversity at all.
Rahman defended the need for the diversity requirement, saying the presence of seven group leaders at the speaker’s podium demanding a greater Senate presence at their events spoke in favor of the legislation. He also pointed out that the new legislation, although similar to previous senator requirements, was not subject to the same bureaucratic system present two years ago.
Senators also voiced their concern over adding yet another requirement to a job already full of responsibility and obligation. But as Dedman II Senator Cristin Lavelle pointed out, Senators are not living up to their current requirements -adding another will only encourage a greater Senate presence on campus.
Despite the heated debate, Odham made it clear that voting against the requirement was not voting against diversity.
For the first time this semester, Speaker Michael Dorff called for a roll-call vote. Of the 26 Senators present, 17 voted against the legislation. Two senators abstained from the vote, and 11 Senators were absent from the meeting.
