The Undergraduate Student Congress voted to create an award, recognize mental health care, acknowledge Women’s History Month, enforce campus safety and allocate funds at its Tuesday evening meeting.
Allocating Funds
The Auxiliary Allocation 14 Act of 2023-24 appropriates Student Government Association funds to a registered student organization. The act outlines details of the fiscal year and makes provisions for excess funds.
This act provides funding for one organization, the College of Law Dean’s Walking Club, which is to receive $700. Rep. Zuyyin Izza Gulam, who authored the bill, said these funds will cover the organization’s registration for the upcoming Oklahoma City Marathon.
The act passes with a roll call vote of 21-0-0.
Recognizing Women’s History Month
The Women’s History Month Resolution of 2024 acknowledges March as Women’s History Month and encourages students to learn about women’s history.
The authors, Assoc. Himani Prajapati and Assoc. Reese Ball, said they want to recognize women at OU, specifically those who are in male-dominated majors.
Ball said that the purpose of this resolution is to celebrate, acknowledge and teach women’s history.
The resolution passes with a roll call vote of 20-0-0. A congress member left the meeting before this vote.
Recognizing Mental Health Care
The Telus About Mental Health resolution recognizes University Counseling Center’s recent partnership with Telus Health to provide mental health care. Telus Health provides 24/7 support free of charge for OU students.
The author, Secretary Carolyn Berggren, said she wrote this bill to increase discussions about mental health and thank the university for promoting mental health initiatives.
The resolution passes with a roll call vote of 20-0-0.
Amending the Bylaws
The Rod Jahromi Award Codification act seeks to amend the Student Government Association bylaws to create the Rod Jahromi Award.
This award would be given annually to an outstanding member of the Undergraduate Student Congress, with the recipient being announced at the end of the spring semester. The recipient will be determined by a majority vote of the Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary, and will receive a monetary award.
The award is named for OU alum Rod Jahromi, who is the Global Procurement Manager for ExxonMobil Fuels and Corporate Marketing. Jahromi serves on the Alumni Advisory Board for the JCPenny Leadership Program at Price College. Jahromi is a former member of the Undergraduate Student Congress who wanted to recognize outstanding students.
The author, Chair Abby Halsey-Kraus, said this award is being codified in the bylaws to “make it more official.”
“It’s a good faith effort to make sure the award keeps going and we’re properly using that amount that’s been donated,” Halsey-Kraus said.
Halsey-Kraus spoke about the importance of having a group of three decide the recipient, so they can discuss candidates and eliminate bias.
Out of respect for the donor, Halsey-Kraus said she does not want to advertise the amount of money the recipient will be awarded.
The act passes with a roll call vote of 18-0-0. Two congress members left the meeting before this vote.
Campus Safety
The Campus Safety Resolution of 2024 urges the Oklahoma State Legislature to maintain current law regarding weapons on campus. Current legislation states that the decision to allow weapons on campus is left to the university president.
This resolution echoes a resolution passed last year, and author Abby Halsey-Kraus’ aim is to maintain that position against weapons on campus.
The resolution passes with a roll call vote of 17-1-0. Rep. Noah Coats voted against the resolution
This story was edited by Anusha Fathepure.
