Tuesday, Feb. 6 and Tuesday, Feb. 13, the Senate of the College of William and Mary Student Assembly met in the James room in the Sadler Center and passed two bills, The In Support of the New Beer Policy & In Thanks of the Athletics Department and Aramark Resolution, along with The Food for All Act. The Senate also discussed changes to the Student Assembly Constitution and The Funding Spring Concert Act, which failed.
Bills
The Senate passed The In Support of the New Beer Policy & In Thanks of the Athletics Department and Aramark Resolution, sponsored by Sen. Connor Cheadle J.D. ’25 and Sen. Connor O’Neill J.D. ’25. The resolution expresses SA’s support of a new beverage policy from the College Athletics Department and Aramark, in which designated alcohol areas will be eliminated and attendees may bring beverages to their seats.
O’Neill, who also serves as chair of the Policy and Student Rights committee, said his committee had concerns regarding campus safety, which were addressed.
“We discussed the fact that this is only a resolution supporting a policy the school is going to implement, and that they’re going to implement a trial period from our understanding, and they’ll make a decision whether to reverse, and if they find that it’s dangerous then we can possibly bring a resolution forward agreeing with their judgment,” O’Neill said.
The resolution received near unanimous support, with one ‘No’ vote from Class President Yannie Chang ’25. Sen. Hashir Aqeel ’25 and Sen. Chelsea (CJ) Roberts MA.Ed. abstained, while former Sen. Jonathan Aspin ’27, Sen. Marshea Robinson MBA and Sen. Shalini Kumar MBA did not attend the meeting.
The Senate also considered The Funding Spring Concert Act, sponsored by Sen. Tyson Liverman ’27. The bill aimed to allocate $50,000 of SA Reserves to support the Spring Concert to be hosted by Alma Mater Productions. A total of $150,000 of funds from both SA and AMP was already allocated to the event.
Chair of the Finance Committee Sen. Matthew Swenson ’26 said his committee unanimously voted negative on the bill.
“It’s a lot of money and we’re already inviting a lot of money and it might not be the most sustainable practice to keep adding money every year,” Swenson said, while noting that more funding could lead to a famous artist.
The bill failed with 14 ‘No’ votes and seven ‘Yes’ votes. Sen. Daniel Bess ’24, Chair of the Senate Justin Bailey ’24, Sen. Soleil Garnett ’24, Aqeel, Secretary of the Senate Sen. Hazel Vineet ’25, Liverman and Sen. Mayer Tawfik ’27 voted ‘Yes’. Chang, Aspin, Robinson and Kumar did not vote.
The Senate passed The Food for All Act, sponsored by Sen. Sophia Tammera ’24 and SA Secretary of Health Terra Sloane ’24. The bill allocates $530 from SA Reserves to fund groceries and items for Food for All, a student-run and student-led organization which provides meals and groceries for the College community members who are in need through partnerships and other initiatives, according to the bill.
The bill passed with minor discussion and unanimous consent.
Constitutional Review
The Senate created the Constitutional Reform Committee through the passage of SR 331-01: The Student Assembly Constitutional Reform Resolution, sponsored by Bailey, Arts and Sciences graduate Sen. Morgan Brittain, former Sen. Eugene Lee ’23 and Swenson. As a result, the Senate is currently reviewing the new proposed constitution by segments.
The Senate has reviewed articles one through six so far, with seven to nine left to be considered. Throughout the discussions, the Senate has talked mostly regarding closed sessions, emergency powers and the appointment of graduate senators.
More from SA
- SA President Sydney Thayer ’24 announced that SA Secretary of Data and Analytics Varsha Gollarhalli ’25 stepped down from her cabinet-level position to that of deputy secretary. Thayer will need to name her successor. The deputy before her, Patrick North ’24, also left the department.
- Director of Student Leadership Development Anne Arseneau ’89 MA.Ed ’92 announced that former Sens. Jonathan Aspin ’27 and Jason Zhou ’27 resigned. Class President Nico Giro-Martin ’27 will have to name their successors following an application process.
- “Code requires that they notify the Review Board chair of the resignation and the chair (Emmaline) shares out to Student Assembly. But those resignations were received directly by Justin/Anne – so we are just notifying Emmaline here and providing notice to all of Student Assembly,” Arseneau wrote in an email to SA.
- Arseneau also announced that the Student Bar Association is appointing Brady Clark J.D. ’26 as the third representative from the William and Mary Law School, filling the seat allocated to it by the Graduate Council.