The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Lack of attendance hurts UISG actions

University+of+Iowa+Student+Government+voted+on+a+no-confidence+vote+in+the+state+Board+of+Regents+Tuesday+night.+The+vote+passed+only+after+almost+one+hour+of+deliberation.+%28The+Daily+Iowan%2FCarly+Matthew%29
University of Iowa Student Government voted on a no-confidence vote in the state Board of Regents Tuesday night. The vote passed only after almost one hour of deliberation. (The Daily Iowan/Carly Matthew)

By Beau Bowman
[email protected]

The University of Iowa Student Government on Tuesday evening discussed two vacant senator seats for organizations not currently represented in the Senate: the Black Student Union and the Student Disability Organization.

Diversity liaison Noopur Inani said in a presentation that senators should consider reforming the constituency seats.

“A lot of students don’t like the umbrella structure that UISG operates under,” she said. “We are looking into the possibility of getting rid of the umbrella structure entirely.”

The Senate then revisited SS-B-18, a bill that would amend the UISG discrimination policy in the Constitution. Any bill involving change to the UISG Constitution requires a three-fourths majority vote, but because of low attendance at Tuesday’s meeting, the Senate had to table the bill once again.

Sen. Titus Hou and Sen. Mingjian Li presented a bill that would experiment with more seats for nonpartisan or independent senators.

“I think this is a good experiment,” Li said. “If it is not good in two or three years, then we can cancel the bill.”

Before voting on the bill began, Speaker Brendan Power noticed a conflict in the UISG bylaws. One section in the bylaws states a bill can pass with a simple majority while another section says that a bill must pass with a two-thirds majority.

The Senate then voted on which bylaw to accept and agreed to the two-thirds majority.

Again, because of low attendance at the meeting, the bill could not reach the required amount of votes even if every senator at the meeting voted in favor of the bill. As a result, it was tabled to be discussed again by UISG at its meeting Feb. 2.

Power said he was frustrated with the rest of the Senate.

“Things like this can’t happen,” he said. “And this is why it’s imperative that senators come to meeting. I know there is a political rally going on, but this is ridiculous.”

There was one other bill scheduled on the agenda that would also amend the UISG Constitution, but that had to be tabled as well.

A final resolution was a vote of support of a proposed statue on the Pedestrian Mall at the intersection of Washington Street and Dubuque Street.

The controversial design, named “The Lens” by architect Cecil Balmond, resembles a giant magnifying glass, which initially raised questions about public safety, but those were quickly dismissed.

Power then put the resolution to vote, which passed.

“Thoughts and prayers go out to ants in the Ped Mall,” he said.

Vice President Morgan Brittain announced at the end of the meeting that the napping stations in the IMU, also known as the Rest Nest, which were supposed to be in operation before finals last semester, were finally available.

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