Danette Heredia | Staff Writer
FIU’s student government voted for a resolution circling the recent rise in Haitian hate on the internet nationally, passing with a majority vote.
“Stop Haitian Hate” (S.R. 05 004) is a resolution described as an aid empowering Haitian students to overcome during times of hate, showing that SGA is on their side.
Originally, the SLAC committee had turned down this resolution from being brought into senate on the basis that this resolution was creating an unnecessary political statement based on the third “Whereas” clause that reads as follows: “Whereas, on September 10th, 2024, rumors drew national attention after being brought up during a nationally televised presidential debate,” according to S.R. 05 004.
As feedback, they requested an alternative language that sponsors agreed to, but after 50 minutes of debate, continued with the legislation as is.
“Let it be known that the SLAC Committee expressed no issues with the legislation besides the 3rd “Whereas” Clause, and I, as chair, would have voted for its approval had the requested changes been included. ” says Senator G. Mata from the SLAC Committee.
Senator K. Toussaint would request a discharge on the resolution to be brought to senate on the basis that the SLAC committee’s decision was not valid, neither confident that the majority of student and senate body would agree with their decision.
“It was vocalized many times that there was very little issue with what the resolution intends to do to support Haitian students on campus, but it takes issue with the facts stated within the legislation, which I do not believe is a valid reason to prevent this legislation from hitting the Senate floor,” says Senator K. Toussaint.
Baseless rumors that Haitian immigrants were stealing and eating pets originated in Springfield, Ohio. As a result, anti-Haitian rhetoric increased online. Manuel notes a connection between this phenomenon and bullying occurrences on campus, which she describes as, “a norm among FIU students.”
“It was not [necessarily] a surprise to me to hear from the president of the HSU that they were worried for Haitian students and their safety from bullying, harassment, and other forms of attack. It was when this was brought up to the SGA Senate though, that I sort of realized we had to make an adjustment to the “Stop Haitian Hate” to include specific language completely condemning and/or standing firmly against any sort of bullying or aggression of any capacity to Haitian students, especially now that they need so much support,” says Senator G. Mata.
During debate, it was suggested that they incorporate these anti-bullying messages into the resolution, as well as incorporating a concrete action plan.
The resolutions current action plan reads, “The Student Government Association formally denounced these harmful claims…the Student Government Association will continue its commitment to promoting the beauty that is the Haitian culture, …the FIU Student Government Association commits to make sure resources are available to students who are struggling…FIU SGA will organize a roundtable discussion to foster dialogue and collaboration between students and faculty on anti-migrant discrimination…,” according to S.R. 05 004.
After further debate and moving into the voting session, the resolution passed by majority vote and added into the agenda.
At this point, Senator G. Mata sent two amendments: an unfriendly amendment that removes the third “Whereas” clause and a friendly amendment that addresses bullying and anti-harassment on campus.
Although a friendly amendment does not have to be voted on, an unfriendly amendment must pass by simple majority vote, of which Senator G. Mata’s did not.
S.R. 05 004 received 32 yays and 3 nays, officially passing.
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