Three bills were debated at the SGA Senate meeting last Thursday.

The first was Bill 30-11, which was an amendment to the rules regarding special sessions of the First Year Council (FYC). The bill was vetoed by SGA President Grant Cochran. It was vetoed on the grounds that in changing the rules for the FYC the Senate had violated the FYC’s independence as a separate chamber and, in doing so, violated the SGA Constitution.

The bill originally gave the Speaker of the Senate the authority to call special sessions of the FYC.

The Senate voted to amend the bill so that the President of the SGA would also have the authority to call special sessions of the FYC. Should this amended bill be vetoed, the Senate intends to override the veto.

The second matter was Resolution 25-11, which encouraged students to take advantage of Bama Dining options. The resolution was contended on the basis that the Senate shouldn’t be endorsing a private company. Since Bama Dining is run by Aramark, it is not technically under the aegis of the University.

After a roll call, the resolution was passed.

The final matter concerned the allocation of funds to student organizations. Two student organizations – the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) and The Capstone Agency – both requested funds to travel to the same conference in Orlando.

Upon investigation, it was noted by the Financial Affairs Committee (FAC) that the two organizations had similar missions and that some of the members appeared to be requesting funds through both organizations. After speaking with the organizations, the FAC approved $1200 for the PRSSA (of the requested $1987.50) and $1200 for The Capstone Agency (of the requested $2120).

Additionally, Sen. Austin Barranco, a sophomore representing the College of Arts and Sciences, has drawn up a petition to demonstrate student support for two new parking decks, one behind Shelby Hall on the newly acquired grounds of Bryce Hospital, and the other on the current location of the West Commuter lot.

In a meeting Saturday morning between Barranco and University Planner Dan Wolfe, it was confirmed that there will be a parking deck behind Shelby Hall.

As to the West Commuter lot, Barrando said, “Until we can come up with a way to alleviate congestion, we won’t have a parking deck there. But I’m still looking to find a solution … we talked about possibly having police officers during heavy traffic times to deal with congestion.”

A link to the petition can be found on the SGA website.