Senators amended the Washington, D.C. Fall Break Act Tuesday to allow the Public Affairs department to fund a second bus to and from Williamsburg and Washington, D.C. over fall break.
Although the senate allocated up to $1,500 for one 55-passenger bus, the Student Assembly has only spent $370 because of ticket sales on the sold-out bus.
“Not only have been people been put on the waitlist, people have also been actively outreaching to the D.C. office to ask if they could get a second bus,” Chief of Staff Drew Wilke ’15 said.
Emails went out to the 80 people on the waitlist Wednesday.
In the meeting, Class President Grace Martini ’14 also appointed Gabbie Ivey ’14 to the vacant class secretary seat.
“She’s incredibly organized and put together and I think would be a great addition to our team,” Martini said. “She’s taken on leadership positions in other organizations and I don’t think [being part of the SA] had ever crossed her mind until the position was open.”
Chair of the Review Board David Wasserstein ’14 inducted Ivey and the other newly elected candidates during Tuesday’s senate meeting.
Sen. Jimmy Zhang ’15 introduced the Voting Rights Act of 2013. The bill allocates up to $740.48 to the Public Affairs department to give flowers to the Voter Registrar’s office and to print fifty “Hark Upon the Ballot Box” T-shirts along with posters advertising Election Day and literature with non-partisan information about each candidate.
“We’ve registered 200 new William and Mary students, which is especially opportune considering this year’s also the year for the gubernatorial and city council elections, so that’s something that’s really critical,” Zhang said.
The bill also ensures that the SA Executive Department of Public Affairs has access to one SA van on Election Day to drive students to the Stryker Polling Location to vote. Chairman William McConnell ’14 assigned the bill to the finance, public affairs and outreach committees.
The senate also unanimously passed the Support Watson-Mason Debate Act, allocating up to $370 for AV equipment, microphones and podiums for the debate between Republican Delegate Mike Watson and Democratic candidate Monty Mason ’89 Oct. 9.
“The race in Williamsburg is one of the top five competitive races in Virginia, so we thought it would be a good idea to have a debate on the candidates,” Sen. Chandler Crenshaw ’14 said. “This event will bring good publicity to the school.”
Sen. Colin Danly ’15 received the Know Your Rights cards from the printer.
“I’m rolling in 6,000 of these at my house,” Danly said. “Really exciting. … Expect a bill next week outlining how they’ll be distributed and asking for money.”
During the meeting, Chair of the Elections Commission Ryan Brophy ’14 also summarized Monday’s election results. The election, originally scheduled for last Thursday, was postponed to Monday due to technology issues with Votenet Solutions, which the College uses to organize the voting system.