A Busy and Historic First Senate Meeting of Spring 2023

Image Courtesy of The Catholic University of America

By Chanel Cole

The first SGA senate meeting of Spring 2023 took a full swing on the night of January 23 in Pyrz Great Rooms B with a situation that has never happened before since the founding of the Student Government Association at CUA: the VP was absent and a President Pro Tempore had to take charge. While VP Fahey recovered from recent surgery, Senator Besendorfer temporarily filled her shoes and led the night’s particularly busy senate meeting. In addition to a bill and three resolutions up for debate, the senate also had to vote on three new appointments to the Treasury Board and a new senator. 

The meeting started off as it always does with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by a prayer. All but one senator was in attendance. 

A public comment portion was called in which the University students, faculty, or administration could vocalize any appropriate sentiments they had to the entire senate. First was Corey Crawford, Director of DSS, who expressed his support for Resolution 022, whose goal is to expand EpiPen access on campus. Next was Justin Lamoureux, a junior Politics major, and he voiced his support for Resolution 023, pertaining to student engagement with DPS.

Following that, Treasurer Karla Martinez-Victorica announced the names of the new appointments for the Treasury Board and explained why each would be a good fit for the role. Treasury Board member Matthew Blondel also shared praise for the appointments.  

After that, SGA President Tony Crnvokich recognized and dole out support for the senate appointee, Frances Noory. He spoke to her character and long resume of community service as proof of her capability.

Following these remarks, the Treasury appointee approval process began. First, President Pro Tempore Besendorfer read short introductions for each of the new appointees: Carla Issac (‘25), Elis Prescott (‘23), and Marco Varaldo di Pietra (‘24). Through voice vote, the senate unanimously approved the appointments of all three individuals.

Those appointments were followed by an introduction of senator appointee, Frances Noory. Running to represent the National Catholic School of Social Service (NCSS), she has accumulated hundreds of hours in community service with organizations on and off campus and has a demonstrated passion for helping others. President Pro Tempore Besendorfer called a vote on the appointment and it was passed unanimously. To officiate her new position, Senator Noory swore an oath of allegiance.

Shortly after, committee reports were then issued by the chairs of each committee (Senator D’Atello gave the report for Senator Besendorfer’s committee). Each report highlighted the work accomplished in each committee meeting in addition to completed recommendations that would be brought onto the floor for debate that night. 

After the routine senatorial procedures, Bill 004 was introduced. Sponsored by Senator Michels and co-sponsored by Senators D’Atello and Tamayo, the bill sought to resolve a clerical error created by Bill 003, which was passed during the last senate meeting of Fall 2022. It was written to codify the unwritten rule that only one senator could sponsor a bill or resolution. The bill was approved by VP Fahey and signed by the executive. However, a slight error was caught after its signing according to Senator Michels. Therefore, Bill 004 was established to correct the mistake.  After the explanation of Bill 004, none of the senators made remarks during open debate.  A motion to approve Bill 044 was unanimously passed.

The next item on the agenda was Resolution 022, sponsored by Senator Curioso and co-sponsored by Senator Suarez. It sought to distribute EpiPens to the Pryzbyla Student Center and Garvey Hall for students to administer when experiencing a severe allergic reaction. A similar resolution, Resolution 7-43, sponsored by Former Senator Fahey, passed last year, but the University decided not to implement it because it was proposed at the end of the year, according to Senator Curioso. 

After the resolution was introduced, Senator Curioso provided additional details and clarification to the resolution. Before he began this task, he apologized to the senate for co-sponsoring what was considered too many resolutions, which only came to his attention after other senators expressed their frustration. After his apologies, Curioso shifted his focus back to Resolution 022.

To begin, Senator Curioso shed some light on his reasoning behind sponsoring the resolution rather than a senator from the Nursing School, who would have useful medical knowledge while drafting the resolution. He explained that he originally added Senator Musick as a co-sponsor, but because she realized she did not support certain details of it, she asked to be removed from the resolution. Furthermore, with the opening of Garvey Hall, he argued that now would be an important time to raise concern for the absence of public EpiPens on campus. 

Following these clarifying points, the resolution was brought to the floor for debate. Senator Kish was in support of the resolution but confessed that he believed that the resolution needed more clarification. Senator Musick stated that both herself and Senator Henriquez did not support Resolution 022. She informed the senate that epinephrine is a powerful drug that if not properly administered, could have fatal effects. From this, she concluded that allowing inexperienced students to have easy access to such a potentially lethal drug does not seem reasonable.

To refute those points, Senator Curioso vaguely mentioned NARCAN training has been done in the past; however, he still expressed concerns similar to Senator Musick’s. Subsequently, Senator Drauschak raised some questions about who would have access to the EpiPens, the nature of their storage, and the possibility of other alternative drugs or forms of treatment.

Senator Curioso did not come up with a clear response as to how these EpiPens would be stored. He also replied that he knew of no other alternative treatment that could remedy an anaphylaxis reaction.

To piggyback Senator Musick’s points, the School of Nursing’s Senator Henriquez expressed similar concern about having epinephrine easily available to the entire student population. He also indicated that the drug expires and the longer it is left unused, the less potent it becomes. Senator Curioso replied by claiming that it was better to leave the lines of implementation to the Advocacy wing of SGA or Facilities.

Upon this, Senator Bommer was curious to see if the resolution’s sponsor spoke to either a nurse practitioner with student health services or DPS to ensure that the EpiPen supply on campus was enough. Curioso responded that he had only met with DPS Officer Kirk McLean, Associate Vice President for Public Safety and Emergency Management. He explained that going to health services would not have been feasible for him due to the large hills he would have to travel through in his wheelchair.

Senator Michels shared similar concerns about the resolution as the two Nursing School senators. He stated that there needed to be a more concrete plan for the resolution to receive his full backing and that it should be sent back to committee for clarity.

Senator Martin agreed, adding that she believed the intention behind the resolution is good, but there were too many logistical issues for it to gain her full support.

A motion was then passed to vote for the resolution to be sent back to committee. Senators Ewing, Corey, and Musick all spoke to the weaknesses of the resolution and encouraged other senators to also vote on sending it back to committee for revision. Additionally, Senator Musick conveyed a willingness to collaborate with other senators on the workings of the resolution if necessary.

With 16 yays, 8 nays, and 0 abstentions, the resolution was sent back to committee.

The senate shifted its focus to Resolution 023, which seeks to encourage community accountability to public safety (RECAP), sponsored by Senator Kruger and co-sponsored by Senators Curioso, Drauschak, and Musick. The resolution hopes to strengthen the relationship between the student populous and the Department of Public Safety (DPS) through the creation of a medium for non-emergent communication. According to Senator Kruger, the primary method to communicate with DPS is their phone number, which is only meant to be called for emergencies. Kruger seeks to help create a one-stop shop for all non-emergent communication with DPS where students can provide feedback that DPS can then utilize to improve their services. In his resolution, it stated that students would have anonymity to allow for more open and honest communication. He also mentioned that he already spoke to Officer McLean, who was very open to the idea.

After some praise given by Senator Michels, Senator Kruger mentioned another justification for the creation of a forum for non-emergent communications with DPS: cardinal ambassadors have to call DPS’s emergency line during tours so that they can open the doors to certain buildings. This displays an example of non-emergent communication that has to be addressed under the guise of an emergency. 

Senator Bert asked a clarifying question pertaining to the format of the forum. Senator Kruger jokingly clarified that the forum would not look nor function like a Rate My Professor for DPS. He reassured Bert that it would be a private communication between DPS and students.

With that, a motion to vote was passed and the resolution was unanimously approved.

The final resolution of the night, Resolution 024, seeks to stabilize wobbly tables in the Pyrz and repair or replace broken chairs. It was sponsored by Senator Kish and co-sponsored by Senators Martin, Bert, and Curioso. Senator Kish relayed a colorful, yet imaginary anecdote about a sushi roll falling because of a wobbly Pyrz table, resulting in a student slipping on it and injuring themselves. 

Putting jokes aside, Senator Kish remarked that even though this resolution appeared to fix a seemingly trivial issue, he reminded the senate that the quality of student life on campus lies in the details.

Once he concluded, the resolution was sent to the floor for debate. Senator Gehrig wanted to know if anyone from admin was spoken to while the resolution was drafted.

Senator Kish responded that he had spoken to several members of the University Administration, including Karen Porter, Executive Director of Facilities Maintenance and Operations, along with other admins. Kish also explained the process of repair: the tables, according to him, would be simple to repair, only needing screws and a power drill to fix. For the chairs, however, a simple repair may not be feasible, and the only other alternative would be to replace them with new ones as needed.

Senator Bubel asked if the resolution would apply to Garvey Hall as well since he found wobbly tables and chairs in there too. Kish replied that he would love to write a separate resolution specifically for Garvey Hall in the future if that was something he wished to collaborate on. 

A motion to vote was made and the last resolution of the night passed with 24 yays, 0 nays, and 0 abstentions.

Coming to the official end of the meeting, President Pro Tempore Besendorfer read some updates that VP Fahey had written in advance. In addition to thanking Senator Besendorfer for filling in for her, VP Fahey congratulated the newly inducted Senator Noory and thanked the SGA secretaries for their work in helping the meetings run smoothly. VP Fahey also reminded the senators of their winter workshop. Finally, she revealed her plans for inviting university administrators to each senate meeting so that senators can familiarize themselves with the resources they have for drafting their resolutions.

After Senator Besendorfer thanked the senate for their patience with her, an open floor was initiated. Senator Martin announced to the senate that the new market hours requested from last semester are now implemented. Other senators shared remarks regarding tonight’s resolutions as well as plans for future resolutions. 

Once that was finished, the senate meeting was adjourned.