The Student Government Association (SGA) approved a new senator for the off-campus caucus and introduced a resolution that would require all restrooms, regardless of gender, to be equipped with sanitary dispensaries on Sept. 18 at the L.A. Pittenger Student Center.
Sheraun Byrdsong, freshman political science major, was approved as a senator for the off-campus caucus, 43-0 with one abstention.
Byrdsong, who completed over 1,000 hours of community service in high school, was highly praised by senator Isaac Mitchell during the period in which the current senators discussed Byrdsong’s approval vote.
“After hearing his presentation, I think the only reason any of us could vote no on him is because we think he's going to outshine us and make us look bad,” Mitchell said.
Byrdsong said his community work at a food pantry in his hometown prepared him for his term as a senator.
“I think [working at the food pantry] helped me because I love community service and, you know, as a senator you're required to do community service hours, so, that's gonna make the transition pretty easy,” Byrdsong said after the meeting.
Following the confirmation, a new resolution calling for hygiene bins to be installed in all restrooms, regardless of the gender designation of the restroom.
Hygiene bins and products in restrooms were part of Amplify’s platform points which it didn’t accomplish last year. Amplify is the previous SGA slate of which Mitchell was president.
The resolution states that the introduction of sanitation dispensaries will make transgender individuals more welcome at Ball State, and that by not having the dispensaries, transgender people on campus are at a risk of harassment.
When asked whether there was any data to back up this assertion, Mitchell, who co-authored the resolution, said that there was none because Ball State does not keep any data on LGBTQ representation, though the deal’s authors had sought out information from other organizations and universities on the matter.
The resolution will be voted on next week.
Additionally, a bill that regulates many SGA procedures, from the voting process to the dress code, was introduced for a vote next week.
Above all, the senators spent the most time in the bill’s discussion period clarifying the dress code and etiquette for the senate meetings.
Contact John Lynch with comments at jplynch@bsu.edu or on Twitter @WritesLynch.
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