The Iowa State Student Government nominated and confirmed two members to the Jack Trice Character Award Selection Committee. The award recognizes students who embody the traits of Jack Trice. 

Dawson Weathers, senior in political science, and Emi Thornton, senior in architecture-professional degree, are the two members that were confirmed to the committee.  

Weathers said he wanted to make sure they focused on selecting someone who fully embodied the courage that Jack Trice did. 

“I think it is really important that you seek out the best possible people,” Weathers said during the meeting. “Anybody who gets this money should deserve it because they are taking on some sort of role that would be scary to the average person.” 

The Student Government voted to not remove Senator Natalia Rios Martinez, senior in political science, from her position in the institution. The bill had been brought forward due to unexcused absences at her committee and student government meetings. 

Instead, the Senate passed a bill censuring Rios Martinez by a vote of 18-3-2. Rios Martinez will maintain her position as Senator, however the censure shows that the Student Government has an opinion of disapproval towards the lack of involvement. 

Supreme Court nominee Trevor Scott Henry, junior in political science, was unanimously confirmed to the Associate Justice position by the Senate. Henry will serve until he resigns or graduates from Iowa State. 

The meeting began with Sharron Evans, Associate Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students, giving a presentation regarding Free Speech Training. Students’ training is made available through Canvas. 

Evans answered multiple questions from the Senate, but spoke about her goals for the training. 

“There’s a lot of reasons as to why this is important,” Evans said during the meeting. “We all know that freedom of expression can get a little messy at times. I’m hoping that people will take more interest in First Amendment rights.”  

The Student Government also unanimously confirmed two United Residence Off-Campus (UROC) senators. Meredith Mays, junior in communication studies, and Jamie Hoss, senior in communication studies, were the two nominees. 

Three students were confirmed as non-voting members on the Election Commission. Damie Ajibola, freshman in accounting, Seth Cswercko, sophomore in English, and Brooke Lundy, freshman in political science, were all confirmed unanimously by the Senate. 

In order to establish attendance and expectation standards similar to those of senators, a bill was passed 23-3 for At-Large Committee members. The primary goal of the bill is to generate more reliable participation from these members. 

The Election Commission asked for more funding in order to raise election awareness through a gift basket giveaway via social media. The bill was scheduled to be voted on last week, but the Senate passed it tonight in order to give the commission more time to receive the contents of the basket. 

The Student Government Senate meets at 6 p.m. Wednesdays in the Campanile Room at the Memorial Union.