Yeas and nays were heard throughout Wednesday’s Associated Student Government Senate meeting as senators voted on multiple pieces of legislation, ranging from the city of Evanston’s “brothel law” to safeguarding Senate meetings.
ASG Senator Steven Monacelli’s bill, which called for Northwestern administration to advocate for students’ interests regarding the “brothel law,” will be voted on next week. According to Monacelli, Evanston’s recent announcement that it will not increase enforcement of the law will force them to amend the bill. He said he still thinks the bill is necessary for NU students.
“If the ordinance remains in place, students can still be evicted regardless of whether or not Evanston increases enforcement,” Monacelli, a Communication sophomore, said.
The bill was co-authored by Ani Ajith, a Weinberg freshman and a Daily staffer.
After discussing the off-campus ordinance bill, senators decided to “table indefinitely” the Safeguarding the Senate bill, which states that the ASG Speaker of the Senate would not be able to cancel or postpone a Senate meeting without two-thirds consent of the caucus whips. All the proceedings regarding the cancellation would also have to be overseen by the ASG president and parliamentarian or clerk.
ASG senator David Harris, a co-sponsor of the bill, was disappointed by the Senate’s decision.
“Fundamentally, we as senators were elected to represent the students of Northwestern, to voice their concerns and to propose and enact innovative solutions,” the SESP freshman said. “It is unfortunate that protecting the legitimacy of Senate by mandating meetings is not a high priority for so many of my colleagues.”
When bills are “tabled,” they can be brought up by senators at subsequent meetings. However, they cannot be voted on until senators vote to “untable” the bills.
Although Senator Josephine Lee supported the passing of the bill, she said it was merely a first step in the right direction.
“I thought it was a first step towards making sure we fulfill our duties to the student body,” the SESP freshman said. “Safeguarding the Senate is a lot more than safeguarding a meeting time.”
Apart from these two bills, senators voted to pass the Keeping Internal Affairs Internal bill, which states there should be no involvement by legal entities or third parties in the internal affairs of ASG. They also passed the Dorm Senator Election Reform bill, which promises multiple provisions including that the Dorm Election Commission will be elected earlier in Spring Quarter.
ASG Financial Vice President and Weinberg senior Emma Kerr said the Student Activities Finance Committee is embarking on full investigations of NU’s For Members Only and College Feminists. Both organizations violated the committee’s policies regarding school publications this academic year. For Members Only did not publish its Voice and Vision magazine during Fall Quarter, and their BlackBoard magazine was published during Reading Week. College Feminists also published its JUICE magazine during Reading Week. Because some students leave campus and others study for finals during Reading Week, readership can potentially decrease for any publications published during that week.
