Calvin Dimmig | February 21, 2022
On Feb. 16, the Senate passed the SNOW (Students Need Orderly Walkways) Resolution calling for safe walkways on campus by moving and thawing snow and ice, respectively. The Student Association Senate met the previous week to discuss further funding of student groups.
The Student Association Senate meeting for Feb. 16 was canceled because of a “lack of legislation submitted in a timely fashion for consideration.”
However, the SA was not inactive. The SNOW act intends to “clear all the ice and snow off the walkways on campus,” according to Vice Chairwoman Divya Tulsiani in an IG video on the Student Association Senate account. The resolution was put forth following vehement weather conditions on Thursday, Feb. 3, and Friday, Feb. 4. Senator Brianna Ortiz, who sponsored the act, let students speak for themselves in a survey conducted on Wednesday, Feb. 9. Ortiz conducted an Instagram poll on her senatorial and personal accounts, asking, “do you think the university grounds are properly maintained/plowed during the winter season?” A subsequent yes/no poll was conducted, and a question box inquired into specific locales on campus needing maintenance. A sample size of 113 students revealed that 95.45% of participants were unsatisfied with the winter maintenance of campus grounds, according to the documentation. The Albany Student Press contacted maintenance staff for a comment on this subject.
Lambda Phi Epsilon, an international Asian-interest fraternity, received funding towards national philanthropy. Embrace Thy Curls, a Student Organization that approaches education and support of natural hair growth with empowerment and destigmatization, received funding for their “Kinky Brunch.” The Chinese Association, the largest Asian student organization on campus, also received funding from the SA Senate.
The Supporting Fredonia, Condemning Kershnar Act, passed alongside SNOW, calls for a university-wide condemnation of Professor Stephen Kershnar’s comments on adult-child sexual relationships. Kershnar appeared on Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff’s podcast, “Brain in a Vat.” In a segment titled “Sexual Taboos,” Kershnar begins with a thought experiment imagining an adult male and adolescent partner. Kershnar stated at the end, “It’s not obvious to me that it is in fact wrong.” The segment is no longer on YouTube. However, the segment remains on Spotify if you wish to listen.
The Supporting Fredonia, Condemning Kershnar Act classifies child abuse as “reprehensible[,] and a definite violation of moral and legal boundaries,” and the act claims Kershnar’s comments “invalidate the trauma experienced by survivors.”
The next SA Senate meeting of the semester is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 23.
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