At their 12th general meeting, the 53rd student senate went over a declaration drafted by members of Student Association (SA) regarding a mural painted in the Latino Cultural Center (LCC) without college approval, and went over the changes made in the SA constitution during the constitutional convention.
Senate Chair Alberto Aquino invited Michael Patterson, director of student activities and union services and advisor to the student senate, to speak on the issue of the LCC’s mural painted in the Student Union (SU). He said the mural was painted without his authorization or the school’s approval.
“The group did not have authority to do the mural, we gave reasonable alternatives for the group to do,” Patterson said. “They chose not to regard that [and] they chose not to respond to our request to come meet with us.”
Patterson said they have not made a final decision yet on whether they should keep the mural or paint over it.
Representatives of the LCC were also present at the meeting. Dalia Herrera, vice president of the LCC, stood in front of senate to discuss why the mural should remain. She acknowledged her organization painted the mural without college authorization and said the LCC never intended to disrespect members of the Student Activities and Union Services.
Aquino asked both Patterson and members of LCC to leave the room so that he and the legislative body could discuss a declaration that members of SA drafted regarding the mural. The declaration acknowledged the fact that the club went against school policy, but in this case the “ends outweigh the means.” He said LCC is a unique organization, as it maintains a museum within the Student Union (SU). It would be less harmful to keep the mural up than take it down.
Sen. Wendy Cohen motioned for the entire senate to co-sign and endorse this declaration with the stipulation it be transmitted to the office of the president.
The majority of the legislative body voted in favor of approving the declaration and Cohen’s motion.
Ayanna Thomas, vice president of Governance and Academic Affairs, went over the changes made to the constitution during the constitutional convention. Changes were made to clarify and specify parts of the document. The bills created this academic year were incorporated into the constitution during the convention. This includes the bill affecting the ability of school clubs and organizations to appeal Budget and Finance Committee’s decision before senate and the creation of the student concerns committee.
The next senate meeting will be on Tuesday, May 1 in SU 418 at 8:45 p.m.