Members of the Student Government Association will now be required to complete two mandatory community service events within the Seton Hall community.
The Student Government Community Service Initiative was authored by Executive Board President Leonard Jones and Executive Board Treasurer Sean Kennedy. The final vote at Monday's meeting was 10-4.
"We are leaders on this campus and it is about living up to that expectation," Kennedy said.
Sen. Cole Gumm was one of the four senators to vote against the bill.
"The same bill, practically, was brought about last year and it was shut down," Gumm said. "You're not supposed to be forced to do community service."
The other members voting against the bill included Sen. Dana Kappel, Parliamentarian Charli Strassman and Secretary Christine Mallon.
"How can we encourage others to do community service if we don't do it ourselves?" Sen. Melissa Boege said.
Every member of the SGA must now submit proof after completing the Seton Hall sponsored community service event. SGA members failing to do so will have to meet with Senate leadership. The Senate leadership will look at each situation individually to decide the most appropriate course of action.
Also at Monday's meeting, the new international senator and three freshmen senators took their oath of office. The new senators took their oath at the end of the meeting, and they did not vote on any legislation.
Freshman Sen. Kendall Szulewski-Francis said she supported the Student Government Community Service Initiative.
"I'm on the Freshmen Leadership Council and that requires five hours of community service per month," Szulewski-Francis said. "If the Freshmen Leadership Council can do it, then for such an influential organization as SGA it shouldn't be a big deal to do two events."
For the remainder of the semester the three Freshmen Senators will be voting as a block. If all three agree it will count as one vote. If there is one dissenter the vote is null.
According to Speaker Cosmo Cirillo, the fall semester will be a learning period for the new senators. During the first meeting of the spring semester the senate will vote to grant the freshmen senators full voting rights.
Other issues discussed at the meeting included student printing polices, the Off-Campus Safe Location Resolution and current open Senate seats.
President Jones discussed the issue of increasing the student printing limit of 400 pages per semester.
"Until we feel it's a feasible limit we've been given, we're not going to stop fighting for an increase," Jones said.
The SGA is currently working with the administration on upping the printing limit to 1,000 pages per semester for full time students. An e-mail read by Sen. Kappel on behalf of Sen. Vilela stated that in a closed door meeting the University's Digital Sustainability Committee looked at amending its printing policy.
No students were allowed to attend the meeting, though 10 students volunteered to participate.
The Safe Location Resolution creates a designated area off campus for students to go to should Seton Hall's campus go in to a lockdown.
Should the campus go in to a lockdown students on campus can not leave and students off campus can not enter campus.
Safe locations are currently being looked at, but none have been confirmed.
There are currently five open Senate seats, two Education, one Arts and Sciences, one Business, and one Nursing.
More information on the application process for these seats will be available after next Monday's meeting. These seats are only open to sophomore, junior and senior students.
Frank Taylor can be reached at frank.taylor@student.shu.edu.
