Among many bills and resolutions put to a vote at the Student Association’s last Senate meeting of the fall semester, Resolution 29 may have the most impact on the Mississippi State student body and possibly the state of Mississippi as a whole.
The SA Senate supported the motion to take down the state flag of Mississippi last spring which was quickly supported by the University and followed by many others throughout the state.  
Resolution 29 states that the SA Senate wants to fly the bicentennial banner instead of the State Flag.
Senator Taylor Thomas, senior industrial engineering major, who brought this resolution before the Senate, reasoned this would show pride in the rich history of Mississippi while showing respect for all who have been part of it.
With little dispute, the resolution was passed and will be brought to encourage President Mark Keenum and Speaker of the House Philip Gunn, as well as Governor Bryant and Lt. Governor Tate Reeves to take action in this movement and to support of the MSU’s student body in its desire to fly the bicentennial banner. 
Hunt Walne, vice president of SA and senior agronomy major, said he was proud of student senators for caring about the issue of the state flag.
 
“As someone with deep family history rooted in Mississippi, I am proud of our senators passing a resolution declaring that the student body would like to see the bicentennial banner flown,” Walne said. “Mississippi’s bicentennial is a great opportunity to take pride in our state, to be respectful of our rich history, and be optimistic about the future of our great state. The year 2017 truly is the greatest time to be a Mississippian.”
Other noteworthy resolutions and bills include Bill 18 and Resolution 35.
Bill 18 was drawn up with the intention to give those currently serving in SA the right to vote in the upcoming SA election.  
Senator Stephanie Durr, sophomore political science and sociology double major, after speaking with various students, took a stand against this bill, stating that a majority of those she discussed this bill with met it with negativity with concerns of the abuse of power and exclusivity of SA.  
Senator Logan Reeves, senior industrial engineering major, argued it was important for members of SA to experience campaigning and to have a voice in an organization they are invested in.  
Roxanne Raven, SA president and senior political science major disagreed.
 “I think executive members endorsing candidates creates another barrier for students to break into the SA,” Raven said. “If someone wanted to run for president, but they didn’t know the current president, it would be hard to get an endorsement from them and makes it that much harder for people to get involved. This doesn’t fall in line with my platform of making the SA more inclusive.” 
Bill 18, however, was ultimately passed.
Resolution 35 sought to abolish the prayer that takes place before Senate meetings.  
Thomas was for the resolution.
“When there is someone on Senate or in an organization that doesn’t feel represented by this, it loses its purpose,” Thomas said.  
However, it was argued that taking away this right could put the Senate in danger of going against the First Amendment and that any type of prayer should be welcomed.  In the end, this resolution was failed.