Student Association Passes Four Bills at Recent Meeting

By Myles Goldman

Last Monday night the Student Association Senate passed a flurry of four bills at its meeting as it looks to accomplish its many initiatives before the legislative session ends in mid-April.

The Senate passed unanimously a resolution supporting a trial-program that extends the hours Eckles Library on the Mount Vernon campus is open on Friday and Saturdays.  Eckles normally stays open until 8pm on Friday and Saturday but under the trial program will stay open until 10pm for the remainder of the semester.

The Senate also passed a resolution that suggests ways the University can reduce the amount of students print to protect the environment.  Specifically, the bill called for reducing the price students pay through University printing for double-sided copies from fourteen cents to twelve cents as well as encouraging faculty members to accept electronic submissions and changing page requirements to word count requirements on assignments.   

The Senate passed a Health Services and Insurance Act that attempts to ensure that students have a greater say in student health insurance plans the University offers.  The bill establishes an ad-hoc committee comprised of students that will work with Student Health University officials to negotiate student health insurance rates with the insurance company the University works with.  

The bill also asks the University ensure that there are staff dedicated to answering student questions about the student health care coverage and health care waivers.  

The bill addresses a major concern of international students who many times found that they were forced to pay for the University health insurance plan for an entire year. According to Shashwat Gautam (SOB-Graduate), the bill's sponsor, these were some of the students he was thinking about when proposing the bill.

"Many students would graduate in May but still be libel to pay [their insurance]," Gupta said. "The University has been thinking like a health insurance company instead of thinking about students."