USC’s student senate passed several pieces of legislation on Sept. 10, including recommendations to create and expand an esports program and urge the City of Columbia to add a sidewalk along 411 Huger St.
Adding a sidewalk
The senate passed a recommendation, sponsored by Speaker Pro Tempore Daniel Violette, to urge the city of Columbia to add a sidewalk along 411 Huger St.
This legislation comes following an accident at 411 Huger St. involving two students. One was a driver, and the other was a pedestrian, Violette said.
“The pedestrian was walking along what was supposed to be a sidewalk, but there isn’t a sidewalk on 411 Huger St., and the university driver hit the university student," Violette said. "This was because there was no sidewalk there.”
Esports program
The senate also passed a recommendation, sponsored by Sens. Lester Lewis and Chance Kirby, to create and expand an esports program on campus.
USC system campuses, such as USC Aiken and USC Lancaster, already have esports programs, Lewis said.
“We need one here on USC Columbia, and we need to set the standard for the rest of the schools,” Lewis said.
The goal of the legislation is to give USC's current esports club more resources, Kirby said.
Kirby said the club has been increasing in membership each semester and helped freshmen spend less time in their rooms and get out on campus with in-person events.
Expanding Jewish food options
A recommendation to expand Jewish food options in university dining, sponsored by Sens. Lewis and Lauren Andersen, also passed.
There has been a 10% increase in Jewish students in this year’s freshman class, as well as a surge in membership in the Jewish club on campus, Lewis said.
According to the recommendation, USC’s current dining options do not consistently offer traditional Jewish foods or kosher-certified meals.
“Providing reliable, clearly labeled, and widely available Jewish food options would enhance campus inclusivity and support the university’s commitment to diversity and belonging,” according to the recommendation.
This will start off by introducing kosher-friendly grab and go meals in Gamecock General, Andersen said. Depending on the response by students, the university will have discretion to continue adding to other places as well, Andersen said .
Additional legislation
The senate also passed three bills related to Student Government operations, all sponsored by Chairperson Kiki D’Apolito. These include clarifying committee limits, revising cabinet committee positions and revising a section of the Student Government codes.
The bill on clarifying committee limits revolves around the Rules Committee, D’Apolito said. The bill says the Rules Committee does not count towards the one committee minimum or three committee maximum if you are in student senate, D’Apolito said.
Since Rules Committee is a requirement for chairpersons, this will not count towards the minimum or maximum, so they can join other committees they are interested in, D’Apolito said.
The bill to revise cabinet committee positions involves making separate committees for the five secretaries of each department, according to the bill.
“The purpose of this one is so that each secretary can have an established committee so that they’re not sharing members through the president’s branch,” D’Apolito said .
This, in turn, will open more spots in Student Government, D’Apolito said.
A bill was also passed to amend chapter two, articles I and II of the codes to make them more concise and easier to read, D’Apolito said.
Student senate will meet again on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 5:30 p.m.