The 2022–23 Student Government Association (SGA) administration held its first meeting on April 19 to discuss its Rules Bill for the upcoming academic year.
Rules Bill
Executive President Breanna Soldatelli presented the new Rules Bill, which is rewritten every academic year.
- The Rules Bill presented measures to improve senator accountability, including moving the Amendment and Approval of the Agenda to earlier in SGA general body meetings (GBMs), mandating a more in-depth legislation proposal process, making agenda items due on the Saturday before GBMs, enacting a business casual dress code for GBMs and banning personal technology, food and side conversations during GBMs.
- Sophomore Class Senator Jackson Morris argued against the ban on personal technology, stating that “ultimately, the person that’s going to be best at looking up information... is going to be the person who has access to a computer.”
- Sophomore Class Senator Dalhart Dobbs added that the technology ban, which intends to make GBMs quicker by minimizing distraction, would make meetings longer because SGA members would not be able to review legislation while discussing it.
- Soldatelli noted that the ban existed before COVID-19 and that SGA has had problems in the past with committee members being distracted by technology during GBMs. According to the Rules Bill, the presiding officer can still allow the use of personal technology to review legislation at their discretion.
- Morris proposed an amendment that would change the ban on personal technology to a ban on smartphones. The amendment passed unanimously.
- Senior Class President JiWon Woo countered the Rules Bill’s business casual dress code, stating that since GBMs occur at 7 p.m., it “is right after dinner, so we would have to go back into our room for getting changed.”
- Sophomore Class President Ryan Chou raised concerns about weather conditions and business casual attire. He explained that “during the winter, [it’s] going to be rough... I don’t have business casual for the winter.”
- Soldatelli explained that the dress code also existed before COVID-19 and that SGA members should consider attending class in business casual attire to eliminate the problem discussed by Woo.
- Woo suggested an amendment to strike the dress code clause entirely. The amendment passed with five opposed.
- Morris presented an additional amendment to add a dress code clause specifying business casual attire for meetings of particular importance, such as ones with significant public input or important administrators. The amendment passed with only Woo opposed.
