The Senate, which has spent much time debating the ins and outsof events such as a lecture featuring two former “RealWorld” cast members, reached unanimous decisions on threepieces of legislation and two appropriations requests with littledebate during its regular meeting Tuesday.
The body voted affirmatively on a bill that would provide ascheduled time for students to use the intramural field forrecreational play as well as bills to help fund a program featuringTibetan monks and a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by Victory CampusMinistries and Global Connections.
First-year Senator Russell Allsup’s bill will reserve theintramural field from 1-5 p.m. on Sundays for student use duringthe spring semester. Currently, the field can only be booked byintramural and club teams to play games or practice.
While the Senate will provide $544 over the spring semester topay student staff to monitor the field, it was unclear if the bodywould continue to fund the pay for future semesters.
Senate also voted to give $1,200 toward a program sponsored byProgram Council, Perkins School of Theology, the Office of theChaplain and the Office of Student Affairs that will bring 10Tibetan monks to campus for a series of programs. Senate’sdonation will go toward the materials the monks will need to builda sand mandala in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Commons.
The mandala is a circular figure, usually with symmetricaldivisions and figures of deities. They are often used in Buddhismas an object of meditation.
The Senate additionally appropriated $1,500 for Victory CampusMinistries’ and Global Connections’ Thanksgiving dinnerhosted to introduce international students to the Americanholiday.
“This will be a great opportunity for students thatdon’t have a place to go to come and learn a bit aboutThanksgiving,” Victory Campus Ministries member Daniel Bunkersaid.
In other business, the body’s organizations committee, ledby Jennifer McDowell, issued a reprimand to the SMU Sailing Clubfor violating the Student Code of Conduct in posting objectionablematerial on its Web site. After reviewing complaints that werefiled against the organization, McDowell’s committee decidednot to revoke its charter.
Instead, McDowell outlined a plan in which the club must read anapology to the Senate, post it on its Web site, make bimonthlyreports to the Senate and allow a member of the Student Activitiesstaff to supervise its Web site.
After McDowell read her committee’s decision to the body,the Senate voted to fund $1,640 to the club to purchase coldweather sailing suits.
