BY RAEGAN NEUFELD
Two resolutions were up for a second reading at Thursday’s SGA meeting – one to ensure all buildings on campus have at least one gender-neutral bathroom, and another to consider adding international students to the senate.
After some discussion, senators voted to adopt both resolutions. Moving forward, more action will have to be taken to accomplish the goals of each resolution. SGA Legislative Affairs Director Ella Burrows provided more information about the next steps for the gender-neutral bathroom resolution.
“This is going to be something that university administration is going to have to take up,” Burrows said.
According to Burrows, a majority of the buildings on campus will just require a sign change on some of the current bathrooms.
“It’s not going to be a huge project in the majority of the buildings, but it’s always important for us to make our own statement and get it on the administration’s radar, so they can start taking the next steps,” she said.
With the adoption of the second resolution, senators will take action on a bill during their next meeting that, if passed, would reserve one seat for an international student.
To cap off International Education Week, Diane Hernandez of International Student Services and Jadyn Snyder of Global Affairs were the guest speakers for the meeting. Each spoke about the different aspects of their organizations.
“Our focus in our office is to develop engaged, global citizen leaders,” Snyder said. “International students are already some of the most engaged, global citizen leaders at Fort Hays. They are globally minded individuals that come from communities all over the world, they speak multiple languages and they have broad experience.”
According to Snyder, other students can support international students through the Global Ambassadors program.
“It was designed to expand the global reach of FHSU by hiring, mobilizing and training current international students to represent FHSU experiences in and out of the classroom,” she said.
According to Hernandez, International Student Services hosts events that provide an opportunity for all students to learn about different cultures. She also listed several other ways to support international students.
“The connections and community students find here are important. . .” she said. “Have a friendly smile. Have a curious mind. Our students are happy to speak about their home countries, customs and cultures, and I’ve always believed that the best way to learn is by asking questions.”
Once back from fall break, SGA will meet next at 7:00 p.m. on December 1 in the Black and Gold Room.