The Undergraduate Student Congress passed bills appointing a chief of staff and an election commissioner in its Tuesday night meeting.
The body discussed four bills and two congressional resolutions, including one called “Appointing the Spring 2021 SGA Election Commissioner 2.0,” which is a second presentation of the bill that was dismissed in the last SGA meeting.
After members questioned the election commissioner interview process and why the bill hadn’t gone through the congressional administration committee, it received a recommendation of “do fail” and was dismissed. The bill appoints the spring 2021 election commissioner following the resignation of the 2020-21 election commissioner.
Farzaneh once again explained why she thought Joy Nath would be suitable for the election commissioner position.
Farzaneh said Nath has SGA experience, including previously serving as a social sciences representative and an associate. He currently serves in the Congressional Administration Committee and served on the 2020 Election Commission.
“As (someone) who recently participated in one of the largest democratic election processes through SGA, Joy Nath made it clear he’s prepared to support candidates through a process that requires emotional maturity, experience and overall knowledge of the code annotated,” Farzaneh said.
Farzaneh added she is confident in Nath’s ability to serve with “great ideas, positive energy and true passion” in the SGA 2021 elections.
An international student from India and France, Nath said he is a big believer of democratic processes.
“I come from the (most populous) democracy on Earth, and I have been seeing democratic processes all across my life,” Nath said. “I just want to support candidates and make them see they are not running an election for brownie points but also to represent something.”
The bill passed with a roll call vote of 25-6-1.
Congress also saw “An Act Appointing the Chief of Staff of the Executive Branch of 2021,” through which Farzaneh appointed Cricket Kaya — who served as chief of staff of the Farzaneh-Gray campaign — as the new chief of staff in the SGA executive branch.
This bill was presented following the congress’ previous meeting that changed the process of appointing the chief of staff position.
An international development and pre-law junior, Kaya said she’s been preparing extensively for a cabinet position — helping with the applications for interviews, writing a “huge” cabinet guide to send to all members, organizing the platform points and helping members know who to talk to and how SGA works.
“It’s really important to me that I guide my members with compassion and carry out the platform with integrity and as efficient as possible,” Kaya said.
The bill passed with a roll call vote of 31-0-0.
The “Fall 2020 Special Election for the Academic District Range Amendment Act of 2020,” which passed in a previous session, received a friendly amendment to remove the name of former election commissioner Peyton Nees after going through the Graduate Student Senate (GSS). The bill passed with a roll call vote of 32-0-0.
The last bill seen by congress was one that set the date for the SGA Spring 2021 elections to March 29 and March 30 after OU’s cancellation of a traditional spring break. The bill passed with a final roll call vote of 32-0-0.
Congress then saw the “Higher Education Day Resolution of 2021,” which introduces the agenda the body plans on bringing to the Oklahoma State Legislature next Tuesday for Higher Education Day.
Higher Education Day is a day where students, citizens and SGA officials go to the Oklahoma State Capitol to urge legislators to support funding for higher education.
The resolution sets out points for the Oklahoma Board of Regents regarding funding for higher education in Oklahoma. Topics include funding to STEM support, for the university’s concurrent enrollment program, the Oklahoma's Promise scholarship — which provides funding for approximately 10 percent of the student population at OU — and the internet provider to the Endowed Chair program, which “establishes state funds as a match for private donations for endowed chairs, distinguished professorships, visiting professorships and lectureships,” according to the congress agenda.
The bill also includes areas of concern for college students, such as weapons on campus, mention of an Oklahoma State Senate bill about proper handling of rape kits, discrimination against LGBTQ+ students and the topic of free speech on campus.
The bill passed with a roll call vote of 30-1-0.
Congress ended the meeting by discussing a final congressional resolution, the “Big XII on the Hill Lobbying Agenda.” Big XII on the Hill is a seminar in the Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. attended by student leaders at schools in the Big 12 Conference to advocate for students’ needs, though Vice Chair Alexis Marvin clarified in a message it will be held online this year.
Some of the issues covered in the agenda are minimum wage, food and security, equity and education, Title IX policies and international students issues. The bill passed with a roll call vote of 30-0-1.
