USC’s student senate passed several pieces of legislation, including recommendations to add new sun safety measures around campus and install bicycle racks at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Sun safety measures
The senate passed a recommendation to implement new sun safety measures on campus by installing free sunscreen dispensers and a UV protection awareness campaign across campus. This recommendation was sponsored by Sen. Josh Banegas.
According to the recommendation, young adults are at a heightened risk for skin cancer due to spending significant portions of time outdoors with little sun protection.
USC students regularly spend extended time outdoors with no access to free or conveniently located sunscreen, the recommendation says.
Installing 10 dispensers would cost $1,600, and sunscreen refills would cost approximately $600 annually, according to the recommendation. These dispensers have been implemented at other schools, such as Vanderbilt University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of California Berkeley, the recommendation said.
Bicycle racks at Williams-Brice Stadium
The senate also passed a recommendation to add bicycle racks to Williams-Brice Stadium. This recommendation was sponsored by Sen. Ash Jacobson.
According to the recommendation, Williams-Brice Stadium does not currently have bicycle racks or any designated location for people to park vehicles such as bicycles and scooters.
Jacobson said the implementation of bicycle racks would specifically be for the purposes of game days, as that’s what the stadium is most used for.
Alternative modes of transportation on game day would be beneficial to reduce the number of cars going to the stadium, the recommendation said.
Improving scholarship communication
A recommendation was passed to improve communication and accessibility for scholarship opportunities through USC's Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. The recommendation was sponsored by Sen. Lester Lewis.
According to Lewis, the process of students applying for scholarships needs to be more user-friendly and better coordinated.
“I shouldn't have to go to this website and this website and this website to get just to a scholarship,” Lewis said. “It should just be a whole list, click on the link, and then you apply for it.”
The recommendation suggests that the office of financial aid provides university-wide reminders before scholarship deadlines, as well as collaborate more with academic colleges, Student Government, and USC's Office of Parent and Family Programs to improve information sharing.
The recommendation also suggests increasing scholarship opportunities in academic colleges wherever applicable.
Other legislation
A bill was passed to organize and amend Section 4 of the Student Government codes, which is in regard to the Student Government election process. This bill was sponsored by the judiciary committee.
According to Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Kiki D’Apolito, the bill will strengthen election integrity, including standardizing procedures and increasing overall transparency and fairness.
“Overall, it cleans up and standardizes elections logistics, which makes the codes both easier to read and enforce,” D’Apolito said.
At its next meeting, the student senate will vote on establishing a recommendation to reduce the price that students have to pay for annual parking passes at USC.
With this recommendation, USC's Parking and Transportation Services would reexamine the cost of annual parking permits, while taking into account the prices at other SEC schools which are significantly lower than USC's, according to the recommendation.
The next meeting of the USC student senate will be held on Feb. 4 in the Russell House Theater.