Student senate welcomes 3 new senators, passes 1 piece of legislation

USC's student senate appointed three senators and passed one piece of legislation at its weekly meeting on Wednesday.

All recently appointed senators now occupy once-vacant seats representing the College of Engineering and Computing as well as the School of Law. 

First-year chemical engineering student Ainsley Reed joined the sustainability, student life and inclusion and equity committees during the session. She said she joined student senate to interact with people of different years and majors who she wouldn't normally have the opportunity to work with.

"I definitely want to involve myself with some sustainability initiatives," Reed said. "I also want to improve the registration process for the Student Disability Resource Center."

Reed said she also wants to learn more about how the university operates and share her knowledge with other students.

"I think there's a lot of details and intricacies (about the university) that I'm unaware of and that a lot of students are unaware of," Reed said. "(I want to use) my platform to educate other students who aren't involved in government to know about the things that we might not know about our school."

First-year law student William Zheng joined the academics, judiciary and inclusion and equity committees during the session. He said he joined student senate because he wants to represent the law school and make sure its interests are heard. 

"I care a lot about diversity and equity inclusion in the law, and I think I want to bring those opportunities here — from this campus, to the law school and everywhere," Zheng said. 

Zheng said he wants to introduce new legislation to further his goals, which include enabling undergraduates to gain exposure to graduate schools and facilitating connections between the law school, the school of engineering and the Darla Moore School of Business.

Zheng said everything is still fairly new to him as a first-year, but as a senator, he's looking to experience diversity and learn more about legislative processes as well.

"You're always learning. It doesn't matter what part of life you're in," Zheng said. "Having these opportunities to get those under your belt is important, and it's valuable to anybody." 

First-year computer science and statistics student Soraya Remaili joined the health and safety committee, the powers and responsibilities committee and the sustainability committee during the session.

Having personally experienced challenges with dietary restrictions due to Celiac disease, she aims to ensure that students feel safe while dining on campus, she said.

"I want to increase awareness for allergens and just dining halls so that people feel safe eating," Remaili said. "That's a really big one for me because I struggle with a lot of dietary restrictions."

As a senator, Remaili said she wants to build her communication and interpersonal skills as well as meet new people who have similar interests.

One piece of legislation was also passed during the senate session.

Senator William Barnes made a motion to introduce the bill, SBL11603, to the first reading calendar. After a voice vote, it was added to the calendar.

The legislation was a resolution that aimed to acknowledge the University of South Carolina's women's basketball team and coaching staff for their remarkable achievements during the 2023-24 season.

"We're just congratulating the university’s women's basketball team for winning their NCAA final and the SEC championship," Barnes said. "We're also congratulating coach Dawn Staley for her Coach of the Year award for the third year in a row, along with leading her team to a third national title in seven years."

Senators Jackson Matthews and Tyler Morgan also sponsored the bill.

"What these women managed to accomplish over the last season is nothing short of extraordinary," Matthews said. "This is just our way of formally congratulating them for their season."

The legislation passed unanimously.