Two bill presentations were cut short and a total of four bills were struck down during the Student Senate meeting Tuesday night.
Bill discussion was cut short for legislation concerning parking privileges for Student Government officials and eliminating the use of “I voted” stickers during SG elections.
All four bills were sponsored by members of the Student Alliance party.
“The reason the Unite Party voted to call the question was because the tenor of the debate was becoming absurd,” said Unite Party spokesman Micah Lewis. “There was cursing, sexual references; it was demeaning to the reputation of this Senate to allow it to continue.”
He added that he had not seen a Senate meeting get so heated in a long time.
Sen. Alan Yanuck, who represents the Student Alliance party, said the Unite Party disappointed their constituents by cutting the debates short in favor of early votes.
“Instead of listening on behalf of 40,000 students, they turned a deaf ear on behalf of 40,000 students,” Yanuck said.
Kevin Kleponis, Student Alliance party Senator, said the bill presenters had become frustrated after their speaking time was cut off.
The other bills that failed to pass concerned the creation of a committee of senators to review the Student Body President’s nominations for SG agency positions.
The committee, made up of senators from each party, would interview the nominees before the Senate voted to approve them.
Kleponis, who authored the bill, said it was meant to create a committee to mimic a similar body in the U.S. Senate.
The bill failed failed by majority vote.
“The reason the Unite Party was against this was because it was a duplication of procedure that’s already in place,” Lewis said. “Basically everything this committee woul do is already done by either the Senate as a body or the Replacement and Agenda Committee.Matt Tripp / Alligator Staff
Student Alliance party Senator Alan Yanuck fields questions about a bill sponsored by his party and authored by independent student senator Neil Gundavda during Tuesday nights student senate meeting.
