The Student Bar Association swore in 11 first-year and transfer senators at the SBA Senate meeting Tuesday following the school’s election last week.
SBA President Nicole Karem presented a report that said between 20 and 90 law students voted in each of the senate races to select first-year and transfer student senators on Sept. 22. The SBA has now filled all their senate seats, meaning the law students in each graduating year and each of the six school subdivisions are represented in the body.
Executive Vice President Garrett May said because nine of the 11 races were contested, there was “good competition” between candidates.
“There were multiple candidates,” he said. “I would love in the spring to see multiple candidates for every senate position that is running.”
Senators unanimously voted to confirm Katrina Ramkissoon as director of the elections committee after Ramkissoon created the report on the election they held last week.
SBA Sen. John Tuley informed the SBA of a PayPal account that law school organizations had access to that contains $70,000 in potential profits from SBA locker and book sales, but recorded profits from the sales only amounted to about $40,000, $30,000 short of the PayPal funds.
Karem said the rest of the money likely came from SBA events, but there is no way to track which specific organizations made deposits.
“Unfortunately the past administration did not require anyone to say ‘this money is for buying a locker’ when they paid the payout,” Karem said. “So we don’t have any way to technically know, specifically, what each of those payouts is for.”
Tuley said the $70,000 will be used for executive spending after the University cut the executive branch’s budget by $24,000 and redirected funding into the University-wide program fund last year.
SBA Sen. Leila Diallo said the student life committee is working to distribute free menstrual products in law school bathrooms. She said officials will pay for the hygiene products but the committee is working with officials to discuss how to refill dispensers and prevent students from taking too many pads and tampons at once.
Officials installed free menstrual products in restrooms across the Foggy Bottom campus in District House, the Milken Institute School of Public Health, the Elliott School of International Affairs, Gelman Library and Duques Hall last year.
Diallo said she hopes to have an update by the next senate meeting.
“The idea is to give people access to products if they need it,” she said.
The next senate meeting will be held on Oct. 11 at 9:15 p.m. in the Law Learning Center.
