Chris Hart-Williams | Editor-in-Chief
Following strong support from student supporters Resolution 68 became the first of its kind to be passed in Student Senate.
Senators voted to pass Resolution 68, also known as the Inclusion Act, during its second meeting of the semester on Wednesday, Feb. 3.
“Before the bill I felt like every other student on this campus. Hurt by what our peers had to say, but knew it was going to come,” said SGA Diversity Outreach Commission Chair Maurita Harris a senior studying psychology.
In January Harris said “It didn’t seem like it was as important as other bills.”
At the senator’s first meeting of the Spring semester Resolution 68 was not fast tracked and sent to committee because it didn’t garner enough senate support.
Harris said now that the bill has passed she is looking forward to a townhall meeting for students to attend to help fight micro-aggressions.
She also wants to inform students that there is a social justice mini-grant available for those who do not have the funds during the semester for programs related to micro-aggressions.
The newly passed bill requests structural support for minorities in response to recent events that have highlighted existing structural inequalities of concern to not only to underrepresented students, but all students.
In the wake of its first denial the inclusion Act was revised and sent to committee where it was reviewed before Wednesday’s vote.
Proponents of the bill spoke directly to senators before the vote.
“Diversity is inevitable in the U.S.,” said Desmond Sellman. Sellman urged senators to allow the university to be a leader when it comes to embracing diversity.
“It’s hard to do something people haven’t done before,” Sellman said. “Make a decision people are going to look back on as leadership.”
Student leaders representing several multicultural groups organized in efforts to get the bill passed.
