At the Sept. 21 meeting of the College of William and Mary’s 329th Student Assembly, senators passed a bill to create a “SA Sprint Week,” which aims to encourage the student body to become more involved in generating ideas for SA bills and initiatives. Senators also introduced two new bills to be voted on at next week’s meeting.
Senators unanimously passed the Sprint Week Act, sponsored by Class of 2024 President Vicka Heidt ’24 and Class of 2023 President Conor Sokolowsky ’23. The act designates Oct. 4 through Oct. 8 as “SA Sprint Week,” a time in which students may submit idea proposals for potential sponsorship or funding through senate bills.
Senators will be promoting the initiative by tabling on the Sadler Terrace each afternoon that week. Each day will be themed after SA departments, including College Policy & Student Rights, Diversity and Accessibility Initiatives, Health and Safety & Sustainability, Student Life & Academic Affairs and Public Affairs & others.
After undergoing initial checks by the Student Life and Finance committees, student bills will be presented to the senate and put up for a vote. If a bill passes, a senator will volunteer to become its sponsor and oversee its execution.
The act allocates $5,000 for this project, which will be used until depleted or until the end of the current academic year.
Earlier in the meeting, Sen. Taylor Fox ’24 introduced the Plan Committees Funding Act, which would allocate $3,000 from SA Reserves to fund research, training workshops and conference travel expenses for the student committees that fall underneath The Plan, SA’s initiative for combating racial injustice. These committees include the Reparations Committee, the Academic Diversity Project, the Student Rights’ Initiative and the Committee for Contextualization of Campus Landmarks & Iconography.
Also at this week’s meeting:
- Senators nominated and confirmed Sen. Sailor Miao ’24 as Executive Liaison. Miao will be responsible for attending Cabinet meetings and reporting updates on the executive branch to the senate.
- Senate Chair Sen. Owen Williams ’23 introduced the SA Hoco Reception Act, which would allocate $175 from SA’s Off-Campus Account to fund the purchase of bagels, pastries, and coffee for an upcoming SA alumni homecoming reception.
