The Associated Student Body passed bills to establish a Principal of Housing in the executive branch and make the currently temporary committee of housing a permanent fixture in ASB.
With the upcoming freshman class expected to be larger than previous year’s, housing concerns continue to plague the University of Mississippi. Although the university has plans in place, several students have still experienced difficulty leasing apartments and finding somewhere to stay for next school year.
Previously, these concerns were handled by the ASB’s Principal of Infrastructure. Under Bill 24-2, the new bureau will prioritize housing issues without juggling other concerns. Senior Abbie Wilbur, an international studies major, presented and advocated for the bill.
“Creating this Principal of Housing will not only take stress off of the Principal of Infrastructure and allow her to focus on her goals, but it will also give housing the undivided attention that it so desperately needs right now,” Wilbur said.
She also believes the new role gives students the opportunity to speak up about changes they want to happen.
“I think there is a need for representation in our student government, which was not being fulfilled to its full strength with our previous structure,” Wilbur said. “Having this liaison not only strengthens that, but actually gives students a voice to talk about what’s happening in our residence halls and what needs to be done. The only people who can tell us that are the people who live in the residence halls, not us upperclassmen who haven’t been there in years.”
The resolution passed unanimously.
Another resolution, titled Bill 24-3, reached the senate floor and proposed a permanent addition to ASB. Currently, the Ad Hoc Committee on Housing addresses housing issues, but it is a temporary committee that will dissolve at the end of Vice President Mason Greenwald’s administration. With this bill, the committee will have a permanent spot, aiming to help with housing problems in the future.
Senior Kaitlyn Skeen, a biological science major, helped author the resolution and hopes it will assist students in the long term.
“We want to ensure that future administrations recognize the need for accuracy for students in the matters regarding housing,” Skeen said. “This will also allow for better management of housing duties and those concerns by the Senate so that we can fully acknowledge the crisis and work to better adequately for our students.”
The results of a student survey, issued last semester by the housing committee, was brought to the table to highlight issues that current students face with housing.
Senior Hayden Pierce, an international studies major, read some revealing statistics from the survey.
“17% of students say that concerns about inclusion and safety impacts their living situation and housing decisions,” Pierce said. “Another 28%, for international students, were planning to move due to safety concerns. 63% of students wrote that it is difficult to understand their lease and the rights of the tenant.”
Although the bill passed by a vote of 38-2, some senators still disagreed. Sophomore Madison Waldrop, an integrated marketing communications major, was one of the senators who opposed the bill.
“While I don’t want to discount the work of the committee on housing, I don’t see this as totally necessary for years to come,” Waldrop said.
Other resolutions were brought to the floor, tackling different concerns. Bill 24-1 proposed to modify ASB senate attendance requirements by changing the absence policy from four to five allowed absences to accommodate senators taking on additional responsibilities.
“It allows us to reassure future senators that we understand they are students first and allow them to take on that additional committee responsibility while also being able to balance ASB,” Skeen said. “We really hope that this will encourage senators to serve on more than one committee and also encourage cross-committee engagement and broaden the range of projects that ASB can do to broaden our extent of how we can help a student.”
Another bill, titled 24-4, proposed to reform summer compensation for executive officers of ASB. Currently, executive officers log their summer work by the hour and are paid at a rate determined by the student union, which has created complications. Waldrop presented the bill, wishing to change the structure.
“This new bill will require two executive officers to stay on-site in Oxford to represent ASB to new students at orientation,” Waldrop said. “They will be required to work 40 hours a month, and they will receive a $400 compensation monthly. That also gives people time outside of responsibilities for ASB that they could get another summer job if they needed to.”
Both bills passed unanimously.
The senate meeting ended with senators reaffirming their commitment to celebrate Black History Month and stay engaged in on-campus events.
Junior Caleb Ball, a political science major, works for the committee on inclusion and spoke about sharing Black-owned businesses and events for people to attend.
“We wanted to make sure that we’re doing more than just giving our ribbon to celebrate Black history,” Ball said. “So we wanted to come up with a list of events and Black-owned businesses to attend not just this month, but every month.”
Ball also encouraged students to attend to learn more about Black history.
“As a white person, I want to encourage you all to go because there were so many things that I didn’t know about,” Ball said. “Please educate yourselves.”
Greenwald, a political science and economics major, echoed Ball’s sentiments and the necessity of cultural engagement.
“You need to be reminded of history and context,” Greenwald said. “I think Mississippi has deeply imperfect roots, and it’s important to acknowledge and contextualize that today in 2024.”
