SGA to work on two closed captioning bills, after legislative action
SGA Vice President Brandon McDonald presents the agenda for the General Board meeting over WebEx on March 1, 2021.
In the wake of the closed captioning legislation being denied, Student Government Association (SGA) Representative Nova Moore and Senator Ramiro Garcia will be working on two related pieces of legislation.
SGA Senate also discussed releasing statements on what was discussed surrounding legislative action in the House and Senate during a meeting on March 1.
The statements would be clarifying why a piece of legislation was passed, tabled, or denied.
"Our hope is that this will help the CMU community understand why a decision was made the way that it was as well as offer a uniform response directly from the source," said SGA's Senate in a statement sent to Central Michigan Life.
In the Senate meeting, Garcia said that one of the pieces of legislation he and Moore are working on would be requiring professors to turn on automatic closed captioning during their classes.
They are using a survey to gauge student interest, he said. Students can take the survey here.
Other business
SGA's Governmental Affairs committee is working on legislation pertaining to residence life, specifically co-ed housing and clarification of the difference between a "visitor" and a "guest."
SGA Senator Max Ranger, chair of the committee, said that the student handbook refers to a visitor as a person not on campus, while a guest is a person on campus with a residence life contract.
The confusion comes in understanding who is allowed in a dorm within COVID-19 protocol, Ranger said. The official statement said guests are allowed, but only guests from within the residence hall community — no other community is allowed.
Ranger said that Residence Life acknowledged the statement and definitions as "vague" and "confusing," which is why his committee wants to push the legislation forward.
The committee is also working on legislation for co-ed dorms which includes gender inclusive housing.
