On Tuesday, The University of Texas at Austin’s Student Government met for their weekly assembly meeting. The attendance was relatively high, and there was a Zoom option for those wishing to attend online. The meeting lasted for forty minutes, with two pieces of legislation being considered. A University-Wide Representative position was also filled. The agenda can be found here. The following is what the Student Government talked about for their February 15th Student Assembly meeting:
The meeting began with the Land Acknowledgement, which is a statement read at the beginning of each in-person meeting to pay respects to various indigenous peoples and communities who had previously occupied the land of Texas. The Open Forum then took place with one student speaking. Next William Ramirez, who was appointed to fill the open university-wide representative position, was approved by the assembly with few questions. Following Q&A, he was approved unanimously by the assembly. Following this, Representative Kevin Roberts gave an update on what he has been working on which includes a resolution focused on student loan debt. Representative A.J. Brown and Representative Alexandre de Saint Germain also gave updates.
Next on the agenda for the assembly was new business. First up was AR 18 In Support of Calling a Special Election. The referendum for the Eyes of Texas was delayed until April due to procedural errors and miscommunication between the assembly and the administration. Because of this, the assembly passed this resolution to call for a special referendum in April on the song. This issue came about because the Student Body President Kiara Kabbarra failed to sign the original legislation that called for the referendum and despite there being a rule in place that after seven days the legislation would become active without a signature or veto, the administration failed to take notice. Because of this, the assembly also introduced AR 19 In Support of a Referendum on the Eyes of Texas. Both pieces of legislation passed overwhelmingly.
Next up on the agenda were Executive Board Reports. Only the president and chief of staff attended the assembly meeting and each of them gave their respective reports. The president gave updates on the Black History Month Student Government appreciation week where she hosted multiple events with former black student body presidents and executive board members. She also advertised the partnership between Student Government and Historical Black Colleges and Universities in the Austin area. Next, the Chief of Staff advertised the Assembly’s Exec Fun Day taking place on Wednesday the 23rd. Following this, the various committees gave their Assembly Board Reports. The Ethics and Oversight committee welcomed a new member this week. The Governmental Affairs committee is working on a survey with the Senate of College Councils around campus safety and working on a town hall related to the issue. Additionally, they are working on election reform and conducting covid-19 testimonies. Lastly, the Speaker gave updates on creating an online voting method for the assembly, he is working on updating the SG website, he is looking for a new representative to end a tie in the Joint Resolution committee, and lastly, he plugged the CTBAC Survey currently underway. Then, following an announcement by Representative Roberts to go vote early, the meeting adjourned at 7:42 PM.
