The Associated Student Government Senate met Wednesday and passed two resolutions: one to honor alumni veterans and active service members and another to approve Election Commission guidelines ahead of its February presidential election.
The first resolution passed this quarter, presented by NU Political Union Speaker Edward Dowd, would create a day of remembrance for members of the Northwestern community who have served in the military.
“My grandparents and great-grandparents all served in the military, so I grew up with that,” Dowd said. “They’ve always been very modest. They don’t really talk about that stuff. But they provided a big service to their country and made a great sacrifice.”
His proposal would require the University to celebrate National Poppy Day by handing out red poppies — a symbol worn by citizens around the world to honor active service members and veterans.
Dowd said Northwestern houses several plaques commemorating Northwestern’s deceased military alumni, located in Alice Millar Chapel and outside Sargent Hall.
“We have these small little tokens on campus that represent service that Northwestern alumni have done,” Dowd said. “The issue is, how do we bring that to the student community? They do a great job representing (veterans), but I think it would be great to spread that awareness to students.”
The second resolution to pass, presented by Election Commission Chair Paul Graham, outlined the guidelines for the upcoming ASG presidential election.
The guidelines remained largely unchanged from last year, with two key changes. Election dates were moved up to Feb. 8-10, and the commission implemented a $200 campaign spending limit to mitigate the effects of financial inequity — candidates will not be allowed to spend personal funds on campaigns. Instead, funding will come from the Election Commission.
Senators broke into working groups to continue drafting legislation for the quarter. The working group on safety is conducting a survey on lighting at night on campus. Other working groups focused on examining policies on Zoom classes during cold weather, getting more gluten-free food into the dining halls, providing more Safe Rides during times of heightened need and replacing broken musical instruments for low-income Bienen students.
Weinberg sophomore and Senator Kaitlyn Salgado-Alvarez suggested hosting a town hall for senators to address their constituents.
SESP junior and NU College Democrats representative Aimee Resnick encouraged senators to join the new Community Relations Committee. The committee will conduct stakeholder meetings with community leaders and unify civic engagement efforts across campus, she said.
SESP senior and Speaker of the Senate Leah Ryzenman said it is important for students to vote in the upcoming presidential election.
“(The ASG presidents) put so much time, effort, energy and commitment into communicating with admin and actually following up on things to make sure that so many of these projects are getting accomplished,” Ryzenman said. “You want candidates who are willing to do the same to be the ones that get elected.”
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