Fierce opinions on both sides shaped a lengthy debate at Tuesday’s student senate meeting that ultimately ended in a rejection of a proposal that would have added two new seats to the body.
The bill, written by Student Body President Patrick Kobler, called for creation of a seat for transfer students and one for students with disabilities.
A number of transfer students spoke at the meeting. One student who opposed the bill pointed out that, under the proposal, “a student who was diagnosed with A.D.H.D., was a transfer student, and was a member of Cox Business School would be allowed to vote for three different senators while most SMU students are only allowed to vote for one.”
The issue of double-representation, came into question for many senators
Kobler, Ashley Stone, assistant director of new student orientation and student support and Rebecca Marin, director of services for students with disabilities spoke in support of the proposal, as did one student.
Stone said about 10 percent of the SMU community consists of transfer students, which she said warrants special representation for the group.
Little opposition was heard regarding the seat for students with disabilities.
Proponents of the transfer seat argued it would help transfer students feel more a part of the SMU community and would facilitate their involvement in campus activities.
A recent transfer student Catalina Cruz said she agreed with the proposal.
“This is a group of kids that is very underrepresented,” she said.
“We find out things too late, we hear things at the very last minute, and there are some things we never hear about,” Cruz said. “A lot of kids did not know they could go to Mustang Corral and so they didn’t show up.”.
In a 21 to 15 roll-call vote (with one abstention), the entire proposal failed, including the seat for students with disabilities.
Kobler spoke with The Daily Campus after the meeting and said he plans to reintroduce a bill in the coming weeks that would include only a seat for students with disabilities, which he said he thought would pass.
