The College of William and Mary’s Student Assembly voted to renovate study rooms in Earl Gregg Swem Library at its meeting Tuesday.
The Swem Library Study Room Renovation Act, co-sponsored by Sen. Mike Young ’11 and Chairman Stef Felitto ’12, passed by unanimous consent.
The bill allocates $1,280 from the Consolidated Reserve in order to create two new group study rooms in the library.
“These were recommendations that came directly from the Student Advisory Committee in Swem,” Young said. “It’s what students said they wanted.”
Felitto noted that students said groups have a difficult time finding areas to study in the library, especially during final exam periods.
The renovations will convert existing individual study rooms of sufficient size into group study rooms through the purchase of new furniture and whiteboards.
Sen. Adam Stokes ’12 introduced the Possession of Marijuana Sanctions Alteration Act, a bill that seeks to change current College policy on punishments for marijuana possession.
The bill supports reduced punishment for a first-time offense of possession of marijuana in order to keep College policy in line with state law. The sponsors said that, in the commonwealth of Virginia, marijuana use is a misdemeanor punished less harshly than the underage consumption of alcohol.
The bill supports warnings, substance abuse education and community service participation as potential consequences for marijuana possession.
The SA also introduced the Music Ain’t Free Act, sponsored by Young. If passed, the bill would use $2,000 to pay the Virginia Symphony Orchestra for its Sept. 2 concert at Lake Matoaka.
The Orchestra has not yet been paid, due to an invoice that was sent late to the College.
Both new bills will go through SA committees before they are brought to a vote.
