Student Senate passed bylaw changes for two commissions at its meeting Monday.
The Student Office for Sustainability added to their bylaws a requirement for members to put in one hour of service per week. The bylaw change passed with a voice vote.
Brittany Whited, the director of SOS, explained that the change was meant to reflect practices that SOS already has and that the hour of service allows SOS to become more involved with other sustainability organizations on campus.
“It’s like an office hour but you’re not expected to just sit in the office,” Whited said. “We give options each week.”
Last week, Whited said the members and interns of SOS had an opportunity to do a lit drop to promote Zimride, the new online ride board that SOS sponsors, or to go to a frac sand mining geology seminar to learn more about the effects that come along with mining frac sand.
“So you’re either helping with a project or you’re learning more about the environmental issues in Wisconsin so we can become more involved,” Whited said.
The second bylaws change came from the Organizations Commission. Director Jessi Van Natta brought forth the proposed addition to create the Student Organization Conduct Committee. The bylaw change passed with a voice vote.
Van Natta said the purpose of the SOCC is to be a hearing body for internal organization disputes.
“If there’s any incident report that occurs or any internal dispute within an organization, or there’s a report externally, from the community, the SOCC will have a hearing,” Van Natta said.
She explained that if a problem occurred within a student organization, such as not following its constitution or by violating alcohol policy, the SOCC will step in and look the problem over.
The SOCC will be composed of four voting students: one student senator who is not a part of the Organizations Commission, one student senator who is a member of the Organizations Commission, one member of the Organizations Commission who is not a student senator and one student at large.
The director and adviser of the Organizations Commission shall hold executive positions on the committee.
