The Student Assembly (SA) passed an act endorsing U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congresswoman Nikema Williams’ Youth Voting Rights Act in its Tuesday night meeting.
“Senator Warren has introduced legislation titled the Youth Voters Rights Act, which provides more resources, education, and tools … in order to increase voter turnout among young adults,” said Thompson Penn, SA representative and CSOM ’25. “[Voting] impacts all aspects of American democracy.”
According to Penn, the Youth Voting Rights Act would allow students to vote using their student ID as a form of identification, place polling booths on campus, and allow students to pre-register to vote before they officially turn 18.
Penn, who proposed the act, said increasing civil engagement among students and young adults is an important social issue.
“This [SA] bill is in response to a letter written by Creighton University student government … for every Jesuit student government president to sign on urging Congress to pass legislation,” Penn said.
The bill to endorse the Youth Voting Rights Act passed with only one abstention from Jonathan Shea, SA representative and MCAS ’25.
The SA also unanimously confirmed Chrishawna Johnson, MCAS ’24, as the SA representative for the AHANA+ Leadership Council.
“I feel that I can take my experience as an AHANA+ student here … and take my guise on that as I, hopefully, serve this position,” Johnson said.
Benedita Zalabantu, first-generation SA representative and MCAS ’25, then proposed a bill to establish a questionnaire for first-generation students to better understand how “exposed” they are to available resources.
“The feedback from this survey will be utilized in programming and events that meet the needs of first-generation college students,” Zalabantu said. “These opportunities and programs will enhance the first-generation student experience at Boston College.”
The bill passed unanimously after one amendment, which removed a redundant question from the survey.
Julia Spagnola, UGBC vice president and MCAS ’23, concluded the meeting discussing the email Boston College administrators sent to the BC community this past week, which reprimanded student behavior at the Red Bandanna Game.
“Student Affairs is having a broader conversation about how do we communicate to students what the expectations are, and that’s kind of where you guys come in as those liaisons between admin and students,” Spagnola said.
