The Student Government Association (SGA) senate met on Wednesday, March 2, in the G.M. Savage Memorial Chapel to pass two pieces of legislation and install three new officers.
Senate Resolution 201-3, which sought to make resident advisor (RA) pay sufficient to fully fund campus housing, received the majority of the discussion time. Rachel Dawson, president of the sophomore class council, along with Vice-President Campbell Sutton, authored the resolution and presented it before the senate body.
Defending their resolution, Dawson and Sutton cited common practices from comparable universities as well as the disproportionate amount of hours RAs are expected to work compared with other on-campus positions. Prior to presenting their resolution, Dawson and Sutton conducted a survey which found that 94% of the 17 responding resident advisors believe they are currently underpaid for the amount of work they perform.
In addition to sharing supporting data with the senate, the sponsors provided, by means of a slide presentation, direct quotes from current resident advisors regarding their discontent with their current pay structure.
“The reality is that we are on call 24/7. The compensation we receive doesn’t even cover the cost of a single class. ResLife has been an amazing organization to work for, and I do not regret working with them all, however an increase in pay would adequately reflect the amount of work RAs perform,” one anonymous RA said, according to a quotation by Dawson.
“The RA’s do a whole lot of work, and a lot of times they don’t show any sort of frustration, which I imagine can be very difficult because they spend a whole lot of time investing in other people. I think it’s only right for our RA’s to be fully compensated for housing as well,” SGA Vice President of Administration Samuel Eudy said about the resolution.
After a period of debate, the resolution passed by a margin of 108 yeas to 4 nays.
The senate also installed three new officers: Mary Scott Tritt as freshmen class secretary, Danielle Popson as junior class secretary and Sarah Rosine as junior class treasurer.
Additionally, the senate approved Bill 201-2, which provided for the allocation of $200 to the Union chapter of Student Members of the American Chemical Society (SMACS), to cover their Women in Science event. The resolution was presented by SMACS senators Evan Holt and Addison Harwell and passed by a margin of 107 yeas to 5 nays.
Senate will reconvene for their next regular meeting on Wednesday, March 16 at 9:30 p.m.
Photo by Laila Al-Hagal
