Taylor VanceThe Ole Miss Associated Student Body voted in eight new senators and an executive position to fill vacant seats for the spring semester Tuesday night.
ASB Vice President Elam Miller said there were open seats because of students traveling abroad next semester and other reasons. He also said students in “appropriate academic standing” were chosen to make speeches before the Senate body.
Candidates spoke to the Senate body and said why they wanted to be a part of the Senate, why they made good candidates and what ideas they had.
The candidates presented ideas like better parking, greater transparency and better communication with constituents. The Senate then voted to elect Atticus Nelson, Nick Weaver, Winston Taylor, Isaiah Knox, Katie Dames, Charlotte Shackelford, Belle Aspinwall and Barron Mayfield as new senators. The new members could not vote on issues during this meeting, but they will be able to in the next one.
Miller then nominated Jonathan Cox to fill Jennie Jesuit’s seat for ASB treasurer because Jesuit would be traveling abroad next semester. Cox told the Senate body he wanted to “request more funding and work more with organizations” to get these groups the materials they need. The Senate unanimously voted for Cox to serve as executive treasurer for the spring semester.
“I am very excited and humbled to have this position,” Cox said. “I am excited to serve ASB and the Ole Miss community in this capacity. I’m looking forward to getting more funding, meeting with everybody and starting out right to make sure organizations get the funding they need.”
The new members witnessed their first piece of legislation Tuesday night as the Committee on Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement proposed a resolution. The committee presented Resolution 19-19, which is a bill designed for Safe Ride to stop at Campus Walk, a university housing area.
Safe Ride is an organization dedicated to ensuring the safety of Ole Miss students and Oxford citizens by providing safe alternative modes of transportation. Safe Ride takes students from the Square and to their residence halls or apartments.
“We had a constituent express a need for Safe Ride to stop at Campus Walk, considering Safe Ride does cater to students at Ole Miss,” said Galina Ostrovsky, chair of the Committee on Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement and sponsor of the resolution. “Because Campus Walk is a part of university housing and because it’s primarily upperclassmen there, we thought it makes sense for Safe Ride to stop there from the Square.”
The Senate voted unanimously to pass the resolution, and the resolution will now be recommended to the Oxford University Transit Commission and the Oxford Board of Aldermen.
Ostrovsky said she spoke with Mike Harris, the director of Parking and Transportation, and he said he was happy to bring the resolution up the at the next Oxford University Transit meeting.
The issue may take some time because of the different boards that have to approve the recommendation and the possibility of a new bus route.
