Half of the Student Association senators were present for SA President Jon David Cole’s State of the SA address Wednesday night.
Since only 25 of the 50 senators were present for Cole’s speech, which was scheduled to follow speeches by university administrators and a Senate meeting, it will instead be held at the Student Association banquet March 21, Cole said.
The next vice president needs to take the event, strip it from the Senate meeting and move it to the fall semester because the next president deserves the courtesy of using it as a legitimate time for the administration to make an ambitious agenda for the next year, he said.
“This Senate needs to step up because it is ridiculous that for the State of the Student Association we can’t even make quorum,” he said.
Thirty senators were present at the beginning of the State of the SA meeting, but five had to leave in the middle of it, SA secretary Emily Stone said.
At its meeting, the Senate passed a bill that would make the Senate smaller.
If signed by SA President Jon David Cole, the bill would decrease the number of senators but keep the precincts the same. Another bill would change the qualifications for becoming a senator.
Edwatd Sanders, president pro tempore of the Senate, said the bills were created to help with the problem of senators not showing up for meetings and to prevent student’s who don’t feel passionate about the Senate from joining.
At the beginning of the meeting, MSU President Charles Lee and vice president for student affairs Bill Kibler showed their appreciation for the SA and the student body.
“I hope that whoever comes after me will continue to ensure that you have exposure to what’s happening in the world and to have the opportunity to grow and develop,” Lee said.
In 35 years of this business, there hasn’t been a place where the student body was as sound in its credits as the one at MSU, Lee said.
For instance, Bulldog Bash was subject to skeptical comments at first, but once the event ended with only two arrests, there hasn’t been a single negative comment since, he said.
“As I think about our time together, I guess I would simply say to you that by far the most satisfying, the most exciting and the most stimulating part of being president of this university is the students,” Lee said.
Kibler said he was particularly excited about the progress of building new housing, renovating The Union and constructing the new Depot, which will house what Barnes and Noble considers their marquis campus store.
“A lot exciting things are going on here at Mississippi State University that are intended to make quality of student life on campus as best as possible,” he said.
This is a campus that is blessed with a student body that cares greatly about its institution, about the quality of their experience, about their education and about how this university is meeting their needs, Kibler said.
“Never underestimate what the Student Association does for this campus,” he said.