At Tuesday’s Senate meeting, two atypical events caused a few senators to trickle in late and forced many to stay longer then planned: relocation and legislation.
Usually held in the Hughes-Trigg student forum, the Senate meeting was temporarily relocated to the Hillcrest room in Underwood Law Library.
Nearing the end of the session, senators voted down a motion to suspend Senate rules and vote on a bill to fund $2,000 for the 2006 Student Bar Association Follies Show.
Law school senators compared the show to “Saturday Night Live,” calling it a well-attended, long-standing tradition at the school that brings together faculty, students and alumni. This year’s production marks the 16th anniversary of the SBA Follies Show.
Law school Sen. Kimberly Sellers, who authored the legislation, contested the vote during a five-minute recess and asked senators to reconsider their vote.
After brief debate, senators voted to suspend the rules and vote on the bill. A nit-picking frenzy unfolded as senators questioned law school senators’ reasons for pushing legislation through Senate in less than two hours.
“The author of this legislation should have known this is a two-week process,” Sen. Reid Varner said.
Sen. Ben Hatch echoed Varner’s dissent.
“This is not a new program,” Hatch said. “Some senators may need a week to review legislation. The rules are there for a reason.”
Typically, a new piece of legislation takes two weeks from the day it’s introduced to senators, as new business, to the day it’s voted on, as old business.
Sen. Hilary Lefko, also a law school senator, accepted the blame for the late legislation and asked for the senators to show mercy.
“I don’t think we should penalize the entire law school, alumni and faculty because a couple of us messed up,” she said.
Senators passed the legislation with one opposing vote, funding SBA $2,000 in production costs.
Next week, senators will vote on a bill to fund the SMU Wakeboarding Club $3,896.95 and two bills to fund the Bhakti Yoga Club a total of $5,285.
Adding to the new scenery, Vice President Taylor Russ inducted five senators and one chair into the organization. During the brief ceremony, the new inductees stood before senators with their right hands raised and stated the Senate pledge in unison.
Senators unanimously approved Ben Wells as a Dedman II senator. Wells will undergo training this week and inauguration on Tuesday. Student Senate is reviewing applications and conducting interviews to fill five remaining spots within the organization. Senate is continuing to accept applications.
Organizations chair Lamar Dowling announced three last-chance meetings for student organizations that didn’t show up for last week’s two mandatory organizations meetings. A representative from each organization that missed the past two meetings must attend an organizations committee meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 9, 16 or 23. Organizations on temporary or probationary status will lose Senate support if a representative fails to show.
