SGA doubles down on Las Vegas Shooting resolutions
The Student Government Association discussed changes coming to men’s basketball game-day parking at Wichita State during Wednesday’s Student Senate meeting.
The Student Government Association passed two resolutions Wednesday addressing the Oct. 1 mass shooting in Las Vegas.
A resolution authored by LAS Sen. Shelby Rowell and Fine Arts Sen. Xan Mattek was introduced last week. Senators expressed concerns with the resolution’s clarity and mention of the Kansas campus carry law. The resolution was postponed to give senators time to revise it.
At-large Sen. Jeremy Hoover, who opposed the original resolution, introduced a separate resolution addressing the shooting.
Before the senate addressed Rowell and Mattek’s resolution, At-large Sen. Taylor Williams proposed a motion to skip ahead to Hoover’s resolution.
Mattek said the motion was an attempt to undermine the original resolution.
The motion failed and the senate first addressed Rowell and Mattek’s resolution.
Rowell said she consulted with other senators and students throughout the week to address issues with the resolution.
“A lot of people had a lot of say on this,” Rowell said.
“I met with Sen. Bearth to go through his concerns and his decisions. That was a really great meeting — a lot of work was done there.”
Rowell said most students she spoke to supported the resolution.
The resolution, originally titled “Support for Las Vegas Shooting Victims and Families,” addressed the Oct. 1 shooting, gun violence in America, and the state campus carry law. The resolution was to be forwarded to Kansas elected officials, members of WSU administration, and members of the WSU Chapter of Students for Concealed Carry.
An amendment was proposed to change the title of the resolution to “Addressing the Tragedy in Las Vegas and the Implications on Public Pafety.”
LAS Sen. Claire Kirkland proposed an amendment to add the University Police Department to the resolution’s mailing list.
At-large Sen. Walter Wright proposed an amendment to remove President of the WSU Chapter of Students for Concealed Carry, Calin Ostby, from the mailing list.
“I just don’t think it’s appropriate to forward this resolution to a student on campus,” Wright said.
Each of the three amendments passed unanimously.
After over an hour of debate and deliberation, the resolution passed with 36 of the 38 senators in attendance voting in favor.
“I started crying when it passed,” Rowell said. “This has been a labor of love, and I can’t describe how good it felt.’
“It’s probably one of the most fulfilling things I have felt in senate, definitely.”
Mattek said the bill was the “ultimate display of teamwork” by the student senate. She said both sides put aside their differences to pass an important resolution.
“It feels like we transcended all the stupid, meaningless drama,” Mattek said.
“We pretty much compromised,” said At-large Sen. Taylor Williams, who opposed the original resolution last week.
The senate also passed Hoover’s resolution with 36 votes in favor.
The resolution, titled “Sympathies for Las Vegas”, was derived from Rowell and Mattek’s original resolution, with the mention of campus carry laws and gun violence removed.
“This bill shows our heartfelt sympathies for what happened in Las Vegas,” Returning Adult Sen. Kathy Bond said.
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To see the full text of both resolutions, click here and here.
James McMunn • Oct 15, 2017 at 12:17 pm
Why not publish the resolution so it can be read by all and discussed by all not just a few weeks. Ms Rowell only discussed her side of the resolution. How many people did she talk to out of the entire student body? Why weren’t other views posted or other resolutions (if any)? Publishing an article of this nature should have all the facts both pro and con.
Chance Swaim • Oct 15, 2017 at 3:10 pm
James McMunn,
The full text of both resolutions has now been added to the bottom of the article.
-Chance Swaim, Editor
J Winslow • Oct 13, 2017 at 2:11 am
Why leave the president of the WSU chapter of students for concealed carry off the mailing list ? You talk about the resolutions you made, and about non-facts like your emotions regarding these resolutions, but you don’t describe what they actually were except for ONE. Some might label that deceptive. Where are the summaries of the other two resolutions you made? You certainly managed to adequately describe the one that targets supporters of the SECOND AMENDMENT !!