USC's student senate passed several pieces of legislation, including recommendations to add active shooter protocols to the mandatory Cocky Transitions Modules for new students as well as a student-run emergency medical service on campus.
Adding shooter protocols to Cocky Transitions Modules
The senate passed a recommendation to add active shooter protocols to the Cocky Transitions Modules, which are mandatory for all first-year and transfer students to complete. This recommendation was sponsored by Sen. Iris Sanders.
According to the recommendation, Southeastern Conference schools lack modules or informative courses on active shooter protocols, despite being open to the public; USC is in a heavily populated area in Columbia with public access for walking and campus tours.
“In all of the jobs I've done, I've had to do active shooter protocols,” Sanders said. “I think that it's just interesting when you look at how you don't have to do it for a public university, but you do have to do it for most jobs you work.”
These modules teach students about crucial areas of campus safety, such as mental health, alcohol and drugs, according to the recommendation.
Adding an active shooter protocols module would make students aware of potential dangers and ensure their safety when travelling around campus, the recommendation said.
Student-run emergency medical service
The senate also passed a recommendation to implement a student-run emergency medical service on campus. This recommendation was sponsored by Sens. Tim George and Gavin Primis.
According to the recommendation, the university is responsible for student health by responding to emergencies in a timely manner, and it doesn't currently have a student EMS to assist with this.
“Columbia is a very big city, and there's a lot of people that our EMS service needs to cover,” Primis said. “We believe that having a student-run campus-based EMS service would help improve response time.”
Other universities, such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Virginia Tech and Georgetown University, have already established a student-run EMS that has led to improved outcomes in emergency situations, according to the recommendation.
Primis said that this student-run EMS would serve two roles in providing quicker response times in emergencies, as well as providing students who are interested in healthcare with educational experience.
University-sponsored sublease forum
The senate passed a recommendation to implement a subleasing forum that would be sponsored by the university. This recommendation was sponsored by Sens. Jaimee Ryan and Nicole Delorenzo.
According to the recommendation, study abroad and foreign exchange students struggle to find affordable subleasing options for only one semester, and current off-campus resources are disorganized.
Other universities, such as Clemson University, the University of Alabama and the University of Georgia, provide university-sponsored Facebook pages, but these can also be disorganized and create safety concerns, according to the recommendation.
“We're basically just asking for a school-sponsored, organized, user-friendly website,” Delorenzo said.
Improving student organization communication
The senate passed a recommendation to improve the accessibility and transparency of information on the new platform for student organizations. This recommendation was sponsored by Sen. Logan Sightler.
Garnet Gate does not require student organizations to give comprehensive information, which leads to confusion for students who want in-depth information, the recommendation said.
Sightler said part of the purpose of this recommendation is to help provide a set of guidelines for the committee overseeing the current bid for the new Garnet Gate.
“Just ensuring that the new platform is easy to use, it's transparent, and it's very easy to navigate for both the clubs using it and the students using it,” Sightler said.
According to Sightler, the major goal of this recommendation is to ensure that student organizations add current information to Garnet Gate, such as a club description and meeting times.
Other legislation
The senate passed two bills sponsored by Chairwoman of the Judiciary Committee Kiki D’Apolito to organize and simplify the third and sixth chapters of the Student Government codes.
The senate also passed a recommendation to implement healthcare vending machines. This recommendation was sponsored by Chairwoman of the Health and Safety Committee Emma Cumby and Residence Hall Association Sen. Chandler Dailey.
According to Cumby, this was an initiative created last semester by the senate but wasn’t implemented due to transitions within the student health and well-being office.
Healthcare vending machines would provide various healthcare and first-aid products to students and would be spread evenly across campus. The machines would cost approximately $5000 to install, with the various products ranging in price, according to the recommendation.
The senate received the resignation of Sen. Ahmed Iftikhar after receiving articles of impeachment against him in the previous meeting.
The next meeting of the student senate will be held on Feb. 25 in the Russell House Theater.