The Allegheny Student Government passed a resolution in support of codifying Roe v. Wade into law nationwide at their weekly General Assembly on Tuesday, Nov. 1, appending ASG’s name to a petition started by Agnes Scott College in Georgia. The body also heard from Provost and Dean of the College Angela Haddad, and released updated club budgets following the second round of budget hearings.
In the time for constituent comments, ASG heard only support from students for the Agnes Scott resolution. Rae Robison, ’26, said that codifying a decision impacts not just the question of abortions, but those with female reproductive systems who may need treatment for a chronic condition.
“Even if they have expressed that they do not want children or they’re not interested in physically having children, they have doctors that will not give them treatments that would vastly improve their quality of life just because one day they might get pregnant and somehow decide they’d want to keep the baby,” Robison said.
The vote was cast in an anonymous ballot, with each Senator writing their vote on a slip of paper and handing it into to Attorney General Abigail Estrada-Hernandez, ’25. However, Senator Sam Ault, ’26, took issue with method and, in particular, the fact that ASG President Veronica Green, ’23, had offered it to the Senate as the only option.
“The president is not supposed to determine how votes are made,” Ault said. “The Senate is supposed to motion to vote however the Senate so chooses.”
In response, Green cited ASG’s founding document.
“In the Constitution, for voting along lines of sensitive matters, we use a ballot vote,” Green said. “It is not an option — it is we use a ballot vote, and that is how we choose to interpret the Constitution.”
Article 1, section 1, subsection b of the ASG Constitution handles the ways that the Senate can vote.
“Ballots – normally used for secrecy, this vote is written down and counted with anonymity,” the segment on ballot votes reads. “Can be used on general matters, however, is often reserved for matters regarding individuals or the organization as a whole that may not be privy to public knowledge.”
In an interview after the meeting, Green said that the decision was also made based on the precedent set by previous administrations.
“Ballot voting (has) always been presented to Senate as a non-option,” Green said. “It is determined by cabinet, typically, based on issues that we don’t want students to receive backlash for based on the way that they vote.”
Haddad was the meeting’s guest speaker, and discussed concerns with dips in the college’s enrollment. Among Haddad’s own initiatives is a plan to bolster the college’s advising system
“The idea is to begin to really understand what the specific needs of the student are and to do something about it before it becomes a problem,” Haddad said. “It creates initiative on the part of the institution, and puts the burden on the institution — not on the students — to reach out and try and find those resources.”
Haddad said that a task force was working on a study of the current advising system, and changes would begin to take place after the task force delivered their final report to her at the end of this semester.
ASG also released the numbers for re-allocated club budgets. The body originally underestimated the size of their funds for this year, and voted to reopen the club budget process at their Sept. 13 G.A. The new allocation adds about $54,000 to club budgets, which now total around $194,000.
Green said after the meeting that Director of the Treasury Adriana Solis, ’23, would be notifying club leaders of the re-allocation via email. The totals of each club budget are also available in ASG’s minutes, which are published online at alleghenystudentgovernment.org.
During Solis’ cabinet report, the Senate approved $4,213 in spending, including $2,980 from the General Fund, $473 from the Surplus Fund, and $760 from the CILC Fund.
ASG will hold its next GA on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m. in room 301/302 of the Henderson Campus Center.