Student senators complete their membership pledge during the Student Senate general body meeting Aug. 19 at the Student Government Chambers. This was the first legislative Student Government meeting of the semester.
The Student Senate held its first fall semester meeting Tuesday, swearing in new senators and introducing six resolutions.
Several senators from each college were sworn in to start the meeting before Student Body President Effua Jordan and Andres Morales, Student Body vice president gave welcome addresses to usher in the new year.
Multiple resolutions were discussed during the meeting, two notable ones being Resolution 25-12, “No Substitute for Skill,” and Resolution 25-15, “Minimum Wage, Maximum Impact.”
Political science sophomore Jaysen Johnson speaks at the Student Senate general body meeting Aug. 19 at the Student Government Chambers. The senators discussed various topics, including generative artificial intelligence usage, minimum wage for student workers and the renovation of study rooms in the Central Library.
Resolution 25-12, “No Substitute for Skill,” seeks to have UTA require all promotional material to be labeled as created by a student, faculty member or artificial intelligence.
Finance freshman Biraj Paudel said the resolution was a memorable one from the meeting and that it was good that the student senators want to hold the university accountable.
“The university restricts the use of AI for the students [and] should not be able to use it for the designing purposes and other things, because laws should be good for all,” Paudel said.
Yaseen Tasnif, sociology and linguistics senior, speaks at the Student Senate general body meeting Aug. 19 at the Student Government Chambers. Tansif is a former liberal arts senator.
Resolution 25-15, “Minimum Wage, Maximum Impact,” calls for the university to establish a new minimum wage for student workers. According to the resolution, new minimum wages would provide students with more equitable compensation for their labor and contributions to the university.
Resolution sponsor senator Adib Kadir said the current wages offered to students don’t account for inflation and are insufficient for students to support themselves.
Since the resolution’s issue, the university has raised the minimum wage, which Kadir said changes the feasibility of the bill.
“Let’s be honest, they’re probably not going to give this just right after they increased it again,” he said.
Austin Palacios, speaker of the senate, talks with student senators at the Student Senate general body meeting Aug. 19 at the Student Government Chambers. The legislative branch meets at 6 p.m. every other Tuesday.
Other resolutions introduced included Resolution 25-13, “Move Out of the Way,” which asks for designated parking spots for delivery and supply trucks on campus; Resolution 25-14, “Shh-tudy Rooms,” which aims to renovate study rooms in the Central Library to make them soundproof; Resolution 25-16, “Condom Convenience,” which looks to expand access to condoms on campus; and Resolution 25-17, “Gimmie My Greens,” a repurposing of The Market in the University Center so that it stocks healthier foods.
The Student Senate will meet at 6 p.m. Sept. 2 in the Student Government Chamber in the University Center for its second meeting.
@wall035203