The Computer Science Club, the Voices in Progress Club and the Young Democratic Socialist of America Club were approved to become official on campus through three senate emergency bills during the Student Government meeting Wednesday night.

The Computer Science Club was brought forth by computer science major and freshman Will Bryan.

“I really struggled with finding others with my major and similar interests,” Bryan said. “A great way for students to connect with each other and build on their skills would be a club.” 

He also said creating a club could fill gaps in curriculum by creating a system where students with varying levels can help one another. There are also career benefits to having a club, suggesting mock interviews for internships as well as industry professionals coming in to speak to the club.

“It will be more appealing to incoming students to see a community there that will allow them to grow,” Bryan lists as another reason for starting the club.

Bryan wants to focus on computer programming skills by collaborative efforts working on projects, as well as sharing projects.

A Discord server, an online platform for communication, is already up and running to start this community at 20 members so far, but a club can make it official on campus to host a wide variety of events.

Bryan said he set the dues at $1 so that anyone with interest in computer science can join and the budget can allow them to later plans different events like an ice-cream social or memberships for programming systems.

“As a former computer science major being able to work with others is very important, sharing your experiments is super important. Almost every major on campus has its own RSO and the fact that there wasn’t an official computer science club is baffling to me,” said Student Executive Vice President Michael Perri.

President Charity Abner and Vice-President Antonise Myles of the club Voices In Progress were there to represent it before the Senate voted.

Abner said she wanted to start the club to offer more opportunities of open mics on campus. 

“This event can help us become more involved with each other. We can encourage each other. We can work on our writing skills,” said Abner. “I plan to make this a safe space.  A lot of students want to be in a safe space when they express their selves. Especially in times when we’re going through a lot.” 

Another aspect of the club will be working on stage performance and confidence.

Abner said, “Some of us want to work on that but don’t know how to or have opportunities to work on it.”

Poetry nights for the club would be open to public and not just members, but some events will be limited to ensure a safe environment comfortable for speaking.

Sharifa Hurtault, Keegan Noll, and Jackson Bayer were there to represent the Young Democratic Socialist of America Club.

Hurtault said, “Our mission is to educate and organize EIU students and the surrounding community and to play a helpful and principled role in the local movement for social justice.”

Weekly meetings are held Thursdays at 7 p.m. in the Witter’s Conference room in room 4440.

Meeting formats alternate between political and social justice education through discussion and watching films. There are frequent polling and surveys to find interest in topics for meetings among members. 

Hurtault explained Democratic Socialism as being “through means of gradually transitioning into a socialized state through democratic processes of voting.”

There are no dues and non-EIU students can join as associated members, however they will not be able to vote or run for executive office.

Opening the club to non-EIU students was started to allow Lakeland students into the club since there is not a club such as this provided at Lakeland College.

This will be the only official left leaning RSO on campus and YSDA is part of a larger chapter.

It was passed through with 12 votes of yay, zero nays, and two abstentions by Senators Subodh Khanal and Francesco Romano.

The fee approval process for Housing and Dining was revised to now start the process of drafting an official document to be voted on by the RHA and Student Government before being sent to administration.

There will be no Student Senate April 7 due to the personal wellness day. The next Student Senate meeting will instead be held Apr. 14.

Theo Edwards can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].