The Undergraduate Student Senate convened Tuesday night — here's what happened:
A resolution regarding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals was passed by the Senate in hopes of declaring support for Dreamer students. The resolution is also slated to be sent to North Carolina leaders, coupled with proposed initiatives to protect undocumented students. The Director of State and External Affairs for the administration, Brian Fields, helped compose the resolution.
“It’s of great concern that members of our student body could be actively deported from campus or their homes,” Fields said.
In an attempt to make voices more concentrated in student government, the senate is drafting a bill that redistricts voters according to their majors.
Sophomore Sen. Tarik J. Woods responded to queries from the executive branch about election districting. He said that there will be a poll of major information from all students. Students are also limited to vote for candidates who correspond to their primary major.
A primary major is the first one that shows up on students’ transcripts. Even when students declare multiple majors, there would still be a primary major. For students who are running for senate with multiple majors declared, they aren’t limited to just primary majors.
“If you are running as a senator, you get to choose which major you run on,” Woods said.
Senior Kennith Echeverria, the speaker pro tempore, raised concerns over what he called "the executive branch’s unconstitutional behavior." He said he was offered a position in the administration’s academic affairs committee, but the offer was rescinded 11 days later. Echeverria cited the explanation given through email by the executive branch.
“They do not feel it would be feasible for me to serve on two different branches of the same student government,” he said.
