The Undergraduate Senate passed a bill yesterday encouraging Bon Appetit, AU's on-campus food service, to stop using eggs from hens confined in battery-cages and completely switch to cage-free eggs by Feb. 1, 2006.
The sponsor of the bill, Zo Tobi, along with representatives from AU Animal Rights Effort, told the Senate that battery-cages are inhumane. The bill states that the continued use of eggs from these kind of cages is "in conflict with American University's reputation as a socially responsible institution."
The bill states that the Animal Rights Effort has found a provider of cage-free eggs at a price that Bon Appetit had previously agreed upon as a requirement for the company to make the switch.
Tobi, a Washington Semester junior with an at-large seat in the Senate, said that Bon Appetit is committed to the moral aspect of cage-free eggs and is planning to switch their entire chain. The Animal Rights representatives assured the Senate that the price of meal plans would not increase as a result of the switch.
The Senate also dealt with two other issues yesterday that led to contentious debates, including the legality of last week's $18,500 allocations for programming expenses that were drawn from a fund reserved for AUTO costs. A complaint filed by Senator Nick Johnson, Class of 2008 representative, is pending before the Judicial Board for review.
The other issue debated was a bill in support of voting rights in Congress for the District of Columbia. The bill was tabled when senators concluded that they needed more time to get feedback from their constituents. The bill's sponsor, Senator At-Large Una Ann Hardester, a sophomore, angrily characterized the Senate as "a room full of future corporate lawyers" because of their reluctance to take action on the bill.
Hardester, who is registered to vote in D.C., said the legislation would be sent on to other area schools to form a united front. She said the goal is to show the U.S. Congress that colleges in the District support the right of D.C. citizens to have voting representatives in Congress.
Also at yesterday's meeting, senior Rich Vitale was confirmed unanimously by the Senate to fill the open Kogod School of Business seat. He was nominated to the position by Speaker Chris Sgro.
