Austin Palacios, speaker of the Senate, adjourns a Student Senate general body meeting March 31 in the Student Government Chambers. Senators voted on and gave updates on resolutions during the meeting.
The Student Senate voted on three resolutions and introduced another during its Tuesday meeting.
Resolution 26-04, “Narc ’Em Mavs,” passed with a majority vote. The resolution calls for the implementation of free naloxone kits and free overdose response training.
Muhammed Abdalrahman, president of Mavericks in Emergency Medical Society, spoke during the open forum and said he attended the meeting in support of the resolution. Abdalrahman said an individual who overdoses can be unable to breathe for multiple minutes. After four minutes of not being able to breathe, the person could experience brain damage, he said.
“We have AEDs [automated external defibrillator] in all of these buildings, not because we expect a heart attack or anything else to happen, but because it is there to prevent it,” said Abdalrahman. “Why do we not have naloxone there to protect it?”
Students pick up proposed resolutions during a Student Senate general body meeting March 31 in the Student Government Chambers. The Senate voted on three resolutions during the meeting.
The Senate was set to vote on Resolution 25-25, “From Vacancy to Victory,” but it was sent back to committee after debate on the wording and language of the resolution and after receiving additional information from Kyle Boone, executive director for Housing and residence life.
The resolution calls for the implementation of temporary emergency housing and assistance on campus for students experiencing homelessness.
Boone said Grand Valley State University, the institution he worked at previously, had a similar program and a difficulty they had was determining who is eligible and how it gets paid for.
Biology junior Muhammed Abdalrahman speaks during a Student Senate general body meeting March 31 in the Student Government Chambers. During the open forum, Abdalrahman discussed Resolution 26-04, “Narc Em Mavs.”
Parliamentarian Chidera Nwankwor, who spoke as a committee chair, said the purpose of the resolution is to give students experiencing homelessness more time than what is currently allotted to them. She also suggested the resolution be moved back to committee instead of killed.
“Someone should not be coming in and out of homelessness,” Nwankwor said. “This should be something that can be fixed, and this resolution is asking to tackle those.”
Resolution 25-28, “Operation Relocation: Bring the Vets to the UC,” passed by a majority vote. The resolution calls for UTA to conduct a formal feasibility and space-planning review to evaluate the potential relocation or integration of veteran and military-connected student services to the University Center after renovations.
Kyle Boone, executive director for Housing and residence life, speaks during a Student Senate general body meeting March 31 in the Student Government Chambers. Boone discussed Resolution 25-25, “From Vacancy to Victory,” which focuses on using campus housing for students experiencing homelessness.
Resolution 26-01, “Every Car Counts,” was passed by a majority vote. The resolution calls for students to be able to register multiple vehicles under one parking permit.
The Senate introduced Resolution 26-08, “Mavericks at Home,” which aims to establish a Campus Engagement Housing Incentive Program that awards housing discounts or housing priority placements to students who show meaningful participation in campus life through activities.
The activities may include holding elected or appointed leadership positions, serving on committees or actively volunteering with a university-affiliated organization or initiative.
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