Student Government Association making progress in recent legislation

While many of us are hard at work finishing that last slide for that big presentation during finals week or pulling all-nighters to get that capstone complete, members of the Coastal Carolina Student Government Association (SGA) are hard at work progressing new legislation that aims to benefit the Coastal Carolina community.

Recently, members of the SGA passed legislation to put stop signs in areas across campus where there are entrances and exits into parking lots.

D’Andre Fletcher, President of SGA, talked about the importance of the stop signs that’ll be placed around campus.

“In my opinion, I think that people view the ‘stop’ that is painted on the ground as more of a yield than a stop,” said Fletcher. “We wanted there to be stop signs where are also stop lines that way it can be less of a danger for those going in and out of certain areas around campus.”

Fletcher views this piece of legislation as the members of SGA taking a stance on student safety.

“At the end of the day, I am happy with the legislation,” said Fletcher. “Our senators are taking those extra steps to see what needs to be done on campus in an attempt to make sure that Coastal Carolina is a safer place for not only students but also faculty, staff and anybody that has to be on campus.”

Another piece of legislation that is making progress through the senate floor is making it easier to access the bridge that connects the Walk2Campus Conway Apartment community to The Woods/Ingle Hall parking lot. There is a gate that is closed and locked between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. The new legislation that is being proposed is having that bridge accessed 24/7.

“Having that bridge opened or easily accessed will help students that need to be on campus early for an early shift as a desk assistant in one of the residence halls or a student-athlete that has an early lift session,” said Fletcher.

Fletcher says that since the area gets closed off for a certain period throughout the night, it has caused Resident Advisers to pay more attention to the area in an effort to stop students from climbing over the fence to get to and from campus.

“If you were to be caught trying to get onto campus a different way, you could be subject to a conduct hearing and given a $250 fine,” said Fletcher. “There are 24-hour walking ways from residences like University Place and Monarch. However, for Walk2Campus that isn’t available for students like live there. Opening up this bridge would allow that access.”

One of the biggest pieces of legislation that is currently awaiting a second reading on the floor is a bill that would place baskets filled with feminine hygiene products in select bathrooms across campus.

The bill was co-authored and introduced by Logan Jarrell, a senior from West Virginia.

“The purpose of this legislation is to promote the health and well-being of students who menstruate at Coastal Carolina,” said Jarrell. “I had the idea to bring up this issue but did not take the time to pursue it. It wasn’t until I collected note cards left in the Student Government suggestion boxes and there were two comment cards that suggested this.”

While Jarrell is graduating this month, he and Ansha Wilds, co-author on the legislation with Jarrell, hope that the legislation is implemented by Fall 2019.

One of the biggest problems that was brought to light within this legislation was not whether to go with the dispenser option or a basket that would be refilled when supply was running low. Instead, one of the main concerns was how students would react to these products being on campus.

“Abuse was certainly a topic of discussion when this legislation was brought up,” said Jarrell. “You are essentially offering a service that is needed and it is being provided for free. There is potential for abuse to come about. However, I think we reached a good compromise that would help minimize abuse.”

Students like Rachel Stahl, a junior at Coastal Carolina, do understand that there is a chance for abuse of this program, but the positives outweigh the negatives.

“That probably will happen but the need for a student to have that product is much greater,” said Stahl. “This is a great program and it will definitely save students from that moment of agony when one realizes that they forgot to grab that type of product or having to hide it in their sleeve while walking to the bathroom.”

The Student Government Association of Coastal Carolina has been hard at work from the very first day of the semester and several members are excited to see what the organization can accomplish in Spring 2019.