Bill 61-75, introduced by Vice President of Internal Affairs Kathryn Harding, would remove any mentions of DEI from their governing documents, including related positions, and change those titles to "Outreach and Community."

Harding said that in order to ensure that ASMSU can still support students of all backgrounds under federal pressure to restrict DEI initiatives, they must take a proactive approach.

"I would like to emphasize that if this bill does get passed tonight, these code changes aren't going to be implemented in our governing documents until there's something said (by the federal government) that basically means ASMSU is not able to do things under DEI anymore, like using DEI language," she said.

Harding ensured the general assembly that all initiatives and work done by their DEI department and officers will not change, only what they label it.

The bill passed unanimously. 

The student government's actions reflect a similar move made by the university earlier this week. In an email to university leadership from General Counsel Brian Quinn, campus leaders were advised to review their "programs and activities" to ensure compliance with the federal government’s new interpretation of civil rights law, which largely considers DEI programs to be discriminatory and illegal. That instruction came after federal government agencies began requesting MSU to certify that it does not operate any diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Quinn said in the email. 

Advocacy to change student housing requirements

Bill 61-74, introduced by James Madison College Rep. Abe Jaafar, advocates to terminate transitional housing.

Transitional housing is an arrangement taken by MSU, typically on a temporary basis, to accommodate the large numbers of incoming students each year. This academic year, dorm rooms in Akers, Hubbard and Wilson Halls were converted to house one additional person while students waited to be placed in permanent housing assignments.

Last semester, this arrangement led to overcrowding due to the excess amount of students in each dorm hall. Many students described the experience as "claustrophobic" and "stressful"

Jaafar said that 476 freshmen and sophomores started the fall semester in transitional housing. 

"We should have adequate-looking conditions when we arrive at campus," Jaafar said.

He said this advocacy will take time, but he hopes that through the efforts of ASMSU, transitional housing will be slowed down and eventually discontinued over time.

Seconder of the bill, College of Social Science Rep. Deonte Sparks, said he knows many who started with transitional housing and expressed discomfort with the process.

"Dorm rooms are quite small, so having that extra person in there is really, like, horrible in a way," Sparks said. "We don't expect for this to be an immediate thing, but over the coming years, we expect for some type of progress to pick up with this action taking place."

Bill 61-76, also introduced and seconded by Jaafar and Sparks respectively, would advocate to reduce the mandatory on-campus housing requirement from two years to one.

The university reinstated the two-year live on requirement in 2020, citing higher graduation rates for students who live on campus during sophomore year. 

But Jaafar said the decision to reinstate the two year on-campus housing requirement was made by the university to increase revenue and believes there are many cheaper off-campus options available for students. 

"We believe that if you give students the option (to choose), it will eventually work out better in the long run," Jaafar said. "It might also reduce the pressures on the transitional housing system."

Both bills passed with a voice majority.