SA Senate Seeks to Reduce Hazing and Relocate Student Health Services

By McKinley Kant

The GW Student Association Senate met Monday night in a crowded Marvin Center meeting room to pass multiple bills and hear updates from committees.

The Senate unanimously approved two bills that will express to GW officials the SA’s desire for an active effort to collect data on campus hazing, as well as the relocation and consolidation of student health and counseling services.

The Senate heard from Interfraternity Council SA Delegate Sean Kumnick, who said IFC is on board with the proposed Student Safety Act, which supports better monitoring of organizations on campus about hazing.

“IFC has taken heat for hazing allegations. In the past years we've seen reduced complaints, and we want to increase this climate against hazing on campus,” said Kumnick.

Sen. Nick Gumas, a sponsor of the bill, said the university currently does not actively collect data about the state of hazing on campus. Instead, the school is approaching the topic on a case-by-case basis.

SA President Julia Susuni spoke on the Health and Wellness Resources Act, which endorses the relocation of the Student Health Service to a more central location on campus, as well as its consolidation with the University Counseling Center, one of Susuni’s signature campaign promises.

“The people who are responsible for making this a reality have demonstrated that they want to work with us," Sen. Gumas said. "We are so confident that the student body wants this." 

The Senate also unanimously approved funding for TEDxFoggyBottom, which will take place next February.

$9,000 will be appropriated to co-sponsoring the event, said Chairman of the Finance Committee Ryan Counihan, which will help pay for audio and video equipment. In addition, $5,000 will be loaned to the event to cover the cost of holding the event at Lisner Auditorium, which will be paid back after the event.

Multiple senators couldn’t resist pointing out that the SA Senate seems to be functioning better than the United States Congress, which has yet to reach an agreement on ending the government shutdown entering its second week.

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."