ETSU’s Student Government Association held its last meeting on Tuesday, with everyone saying their final goodbyes before the new Senate and executives are elected.
During the meeting, former Attorney General Pooja Shah read her official letter of resignation to the Senate.
“It surprises me that if there had been an ongoing issue with my leadership throughout the semester, no one brought up concern sooner,” Shah said. “I’m not resigning out of fear or threat. I am not here serving SGA for my own personal agenda, but rather for the students.”
The Senate voted to update the ETSU phone application with more useful and current information, such as closing times for markets on campus, and discussed lab safety policy for the Department of Chemistry for an extended amount of time.
“In the middle of the semester while I was in lab, they grew concerned about the length of lab coats and started checking peoples’ lab coats,” Sen. Hunter Shipley said.
Shipley said he and five other students missed 30 minutes of class and had to tape material to extend the length of the coat, which caused him to almost trip in the lab.
“They do have a reason for the length and specifications,” Sen. Dustin Gilmer said. “When you wear pants, it might protect you from some harmful chemicals, but the lab coat is meant to help if acid or something dangerous leaks through.”
Sen. Judy Waldrop, who is in the seat for College of Nursing, spoke about how the length of the lab coat is important, even for those working in clinics and hospitals.
“The reason they have the knee-length and more than knee-length is because of the chemicals, because some of those things you don’t want to carry outside of the hospital or lab,” Waldrop said.
Shipley said he would just like for the department to reconsider their policies in regards accommodating students more who can’t custom tailor their lab coats or find one that fits.
Several other pieces of legislation were introduced and deemed emergency because of their timing.
The Senate voted on them as a slate; most of the pieces were in reference to parking services, asking them to send e-mails when students receive tickets, have more transparency about what the money from tickets go to and notifying students when the top floor of the garage is closed due to inclement weather.
Many senators, executives and the adviser, Jeff Howard, made closing remarks, reflecting on their time in Student Government Association and giving future members advice.
“For senators and other members that are going to come back, keep in mind that you’re here for the students, not your personal feelings and what you may think,” Secretary of Allocations Ryan Jamison said. “When you represent your constituents, represent them with a level head.”
