Editor's note: This article contains mention of sexual assault. Resources to report sexual assault are listed at the bottom of the article.
The OU Undergraduate Student Congress passed legislation nominating and appointing members to OU Student Government Association positions, updated its bylaws and proposed the Friday before the OU-Texas football game as the fall 2023 student holiday during its meeting Tuesday.
Abby Halsey-Kraus, Congress chair, swore in new associates and representatives to take office in the general body.
The body also nominated candidates for the Congress chair, vice chair and secretary. They nominated Halsey-Kraus and Rep. Shrey Kathuria for Congress chair. Amelia Landry, Secretary, and Annie Mullins, university policy chair, were nominated for vice chair of Congress. Carolyn Berggren, human diversity chair, was nominated as secretary of Congress.
Congress saw CB-109-31, a bill that would reappoint current body members to associateships or to promote them to representative seats. The bill passed unanimously, and because it is a Congressional bill, it does not need to be seen by the OU Graduate Student Senate.
SGA members Clayton Nowland, Ethan Foley, Harrison Carter, Ryan Barnett and Khiala Brown were sworn in as representatives. The bill also appointed Caleb Robinson, Molly Rops and Jacob Schonfield as associates.
The OU Undergraduate Student Congress swore in new associates and representatives during its meeting on April 18.
Caleb Robinson, an associate, and Tucker Dunn, parliamentarian, presented the Code Annotated Revision Act which would update the SGA bylaws to be more “accurate and inclusive.” Previously, there was language that referred to a member as “his” which, if the bill is passed by GSS, will be updated to “their.”
The bill passed unanimously and will move to the OU Graduate Student Senate for further deliberation.
Congress appointed Emily Carr as the head of OU’s It’s On Us chapter for the remainder of the year.
It's On Us is a national campaign founded by former United States President Barack Obama’s administration to combat gender-based violence and sexual assault on campus with education and survivor support.
OU’s It’s On Us chapter had been inactive since 2020, and the appointment of Carr will revive the chapter’s activity.
Carr said she hopes to work closely with OU’s Panhellenic community and OU athletics to look into how systems of gender-based violence, harassment and sexual assault are perpetuated.
“We’ve talked a lot about attacking the culture … because it's not just a random stranger on the street corner. It’s your friend, it’s the guy at the bar, it's the nice guy, it’s your boss, so we need to be looking at who's actually doing this and how we can help,” Carr said.
Congress also saw the Superior Court Justice Appointment Act of 2023, which appointed Eduardo Miranda as a Superior Court justice.
Miranda said he was encouraged to apply because he found value in group discussion and participating as part of a greater community.
OU SGA President Christopher Firch presented the Appointing Parking Appeals Judges Act of 2023. The act appointed Mike Ousley and Cade Russell as judges for the Student Parking Appeals Board.
Congress then saw the Red River Holiday Act of 2023. The act officially submitted Oct. 6, 2023, the Friday before the OU-Texas football game, as the fall 2023 Student Holiday.
Congress has previously faced pushback for submitting October 6 as the holiday rather than establishing Election Day, Nov. 8, as the recommended holiday, but Halsey-Kraus explained SGA is advocating to establish Election Day as a university-mandated holiday instead.
The bill passed unanimously and will move to the OU Graduate Student Senate for further deliberation.
Congress Vice Chair Bailey Trautman presented the CSP Tracking Act of 2023 which transfers the duty to track the monthly constituent service point requirement from the secretary of Congress to the vice chair. CSP refers to Constituent Service Point.
The bill passed unanimously.
This story was edited by Alexia Aston. Francisco Gutierrez and Alexandra Powell-Lorentzatos copy edited this story.
