Marquette Student Government passed an amendment Monday to give Evans Scholars representation on its senate.
The vote came almost two weeks before its amendment was introduced. Evans Scholars students are golf caddies – selected for their grades, character and financial need – who receive full tuition and housing. All of the scholars live in the Evans Scholars house at 1318 W. Wells St.
The house qualified as an area of campus that needs to be represented by at least one MUSG senator. One point of conversation was the possible overrepresentation of Evans Scholars, since they are also allowed to run for off-campus housing representation.
MUSG Senator Michael Belica, a sophomore in the College Arts & Sciences, said he didn’t see the necessity of passing the amendment. However, many other senators spoke in the affirmative.
MUSG Senator and a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences Roberto Santos said he had positive experiences working with Evans Scholars in the past.
“(Evans Scholars) always bring a different perspective to the table,” Santos said.
MUSG Senator and a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences Meredith Gillespie said that even though Evan Scholars can run for off-campus housing representation, it’s possible that they won’t win. She said she thinks the scholars would be a false representation of off-campus housing since they mostly live in their house, which is on campus.
“It’s important … to have proper representation of all residential areas on campus,” Gillespie said.
The legislation had 64 sponsors, a rare occurrence which resonated with MUSG Senator Alex Miller, a senior in the College of Nursing.
“In my two years here, this is the most sponsors I’ve seen for any legislation,” Miller said. “I see no reason why we can say no to people who want their voices to be heard.”
Monday also brought a new amendment that is a proposal to create a new executive board position called Vice President of Outreach who will chair an Executive Council including the Coordinator for Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice and the Coordinator for Community Engagement. MUSG will vote on this position on April 4.
The MUSG executive vice president currently works with these committees. If the new position is implemented, the vice president will primarily focus on Student Organization Funding.
Editor’s note: Meredith Gillespie is a photographer for the Marquette Wire.
