During its second official meeting of the 2025-26 year on Tuesday in the Gertrude C. Student Union, the Associated Student Body Senate conducted a second vote on constitutional amendment SR 25-8 — which would change qualifications for vice president candidates — passed four senate bills, consented to a senate proclamation and accepted nominees.
ASB President Jack Jones also announced that he is seeking senate volunteers to join a committee dedicated to taking a deeper look at dining options on campus.
Last week, constitutional amendment SR 25-8 passed with a vote of 36 affirmatives to 13 negatives, requiring one additional senate approval before a final vote by the student body. The amendment passed again Tuesday night with 46 affirmative to two negatives and minimal debate.
The new amendment allows eligibility for vice presidential candidates who have served a minimum of one term in either the legislative branch or the president’s cabinet of the ASB prior to the time of taking office. Previously, candidates must have served a minimum of one term as an elected member of the senate or one term as parliamentarian or legislation monitor on the executive council of a previous vice president.
The first time the amendment was presented to the senate, it was debated and questioned thoroughly for over an hour. Now that the amendment has successfully passed through the senate twice, it will be put through a petitioning period and then promptly sent out in a ballot for the student body to vote on.
Four senate bills were unanimously passed in quick succession. All four bills were presented by the committee of governmental operations in an effort to make election processes more efficient with less rigid guidelines regarding the election timeline.
“We try to keep the code, I don’t want to call it vague, but you don’t want to box in different things. … We call it cleaning up the code,” Chairman of Governmental Operations Andrew Nichols said.
The bills will loosen restrictions regarding the timing around election, election certifications and general election processes. They were passed with hopes that the timing around ASB election processes would be easier to plan.
The senate swore in a number of nominees. This includes nine students for legislative aide positions, three for the secretary’s department and four election commissioners for the judicial department.
The ASB Senate also consented to senate proclamation 25-6, which would acknowledge the Ole Miss students, faculty and staff that have died. All nine committee chairs came together to write and present this proclamation to the ASB Senate. President Pro Tempore Wesley Templet was one of those nine that presented the proclamation.
“I have the intention of recognizing important events that have happened to the University of Mississippi,” Templet said. “One of the most important events that happens is when we lose a member of our campus be it student, faculty or staff member. … I have asked my fellow members of the rules committee to join me in recognizing them.”
Many senators felt a deep connection to this proclamation, and it passed with not only a unanimous vote but also a standing ovation. Committee Chairman for Inclusion and Cross-Cultural Engagement Jalon Hightower was another member who introduced this proclamation to the board.
“The recognition of people’s lives isn’t an issue of debate,” Hightower said. “It shows that we have a senate that is empathetic. It shows that we have a senate who can put away personal grievances with whoever it may be to come together as a collective and understand the importance of a piece of legislation like this.”
