The Associated Student Government Senate passed changes to the body’s Code and Constitution Wednesday, removing clauses that limited media access to meetings. 

Medill freshman and senator Luis Castañeda proposed removing the two clauses from the Code Review that allowed a two-thirds Senate majority to close portions of meetings to journalists and other non-ASG individuals.

The ASG Senate approved the policy unanimously in March 2022, but it was opposed by leaders of on-campus news publications at that time, including Northwestern News Network, North By Northwestern and the Daily. 

“I don’t think we should keep that power to ourselves,” Castañeda said. “Having that in there just disincentivizes journalistic coverage of ASG. Taking that out would be a step forward in creating relationships with publications.”

Castañeda also said he hopes removing the clauses will lead to more awareness of the organization on campus.

Multiple senators also voiced their belief that the rule was unused and unnecessary. Senate parliamentarian and SESP junior Dalia Segal-Miller detailed the reasoning behind the policy.

“There’s a lot of conversation with journalists and non-journalists so that we can ensure that Senate is a safe place for student activists who want to come and speak on issues that may be sensitive, but also ensure that journalists have access to the Senate, that we are being open and transparent with the student body,” Segal-Miller said. 

Other changes to the ASG documents included adding a land acknowledgment to the Constitution. 

The Senate also elected SESP senator and freshman Adrian Ayala-Perez to the Rules Committee. 

“I’ve kind of always been interested in government my whole life, so I’m really looking to implement change,” Ayala-Perez said. “Specifically, I want to look at how we can connect more administration and the student body.

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