During the 10th session of the 50th Associated Students of Colorado State University senate meeting, ASCSU president, Hannah Taylor, spoke further about the winter break bill that was discussed the week prior.
“I’m finding a solution so all our cabinet members can keep working on projects,” Taylor said.
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Taylor also thanked the senate for being willing to work with her on improving the bill and said she is looking forward to working with them further.
Taylor also said Clayton Paull, who was not elected by the senate into the Student Fee Review Board, will be reinstated as a member of the SFRB, as the ASCSU Office of the President does not have to present SFRB members to the senate.
The senate then discussed Resolution 5005, the Department of Transportation Resolution. Senator Ariadne Athey presented the bill and said it was about some new rules for airlines released by the DOT.
Athey said the new rules are judgmental pertaining to the service animal community. The new rules include requirements for forms that attest to a service dog’s training, allow airlines to require handlers to provide information that they will be traveling with a service dog and allow airlines to limit the number of service dogs per handler.
“They ruled that a service animal is a service dog, and a service dog only,” Athey said. “There are many types of service animals throughout the service animal community, … but now airlines are only counting dogs.”
Athey said that a lot of times people train their own service animals, and handlers won’t necessarily have the proper paperwork for their animals. Athey also said that airlines can now have size requirements, which is discriminatory against those who use bigger service animals.
“They can also require the service animal to be leashed,” Athey said. “Which means that service animals that have tasks like medical alerts, like if you’re having a seizure and the dog needs to go find help for you, they can’t because they are attached to you.”
Athey also said the rules are optional for airlines, but they do benefit airlines. Athey also said the rules will go into effect before CSU students get back from winter break.
The legislation was expedited, and the senate went into the discussion.
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Senator Miles Robinson said that he wants everyone to vote “yes” for this resolution.
“We’re only going to get to know these things if we get as many voices into this space as possible,” Robinson said. “I’d like to thank Senator Athey for bringing this to our attention, as it is so important.”
The resolution was unanimously passed by the senate.
The senate then discussed Resolution 5003, which is the resolution to support efforts for remote learning. Robinson presented the resolution and said it was endorsed by the University Affairs Committee.
Robinson said the resolution will promote accessibility for online learning, including live captioning options.
“I think that going forward, it’s better to have these things in place,” Robinson said. “The pandemic is still here for the foreseeable future, so we should not be denying students who need (an online platform) from getting it.”
Associate Senator Jacob Leavitt said that online learning is nothing new, and it provides accessibility for people who can’t necessarily go to class in person. Leavitt pointed out that students will continue to take classes online, even after the pandemic resides.
The resolution was unanimously passed by the senate.
Ceci Taylor can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @cecelia_twt.
