Student Issue, 1998—SGA Senate Seat for Lambda Student Union

In March 1998 Lambda Student Union submitted a letter of application to the Student Government Association Senate Steering Committee requesting the addition of a student senate seat for the organization. At the time, there were 14 student senate seats, and other minority organizations with seats included the Black Cultural Programming Committee, Women’s Coordinating Committee, and the UT Chapter of the NAACP. The bill to add a seat for the Lambda Student Union was sponsored by Senators Erik Spalvins, Melrose Hall senator; Jamie Pizzirusso, Fort Sanders senator; and Vilisia Little, Women’s Coordinating Council senator. Because it required a change in the bylaws, it had to pass twice. It passed 35-2, with 14 abstentions on the first vote, after considerable debate. On the SGA web discussion page, the debate continued, centering on (1) whether Lambda had a relationship with the university as a whole or functioned only as a union to serve the needs of the gay and lesbian community and (2) whether expanding the senate membership would lead to a flood of other organizations requesting seats. On March 17, upon achieving the two-thirds majority required for passage (36-9, with 6 abstentions), Lambda was granted a seat. A variety of anonymous posts on the SGA discussion page attacked Lambda’s presence on campus.