Missouri Southern’s Student Senate met to discuss different propositions for grants for a new amphitheater, emergency phone system, and the qualms of students using the campus clear COVID-19 technology on Wednesday, Oct. 28.

The current contractor constructing the new residence hall has offered to help Missouri Southern possibly construct a new amphitheater that is to be used by all departments for various reasons. The main uses for this outdoor area would be for concerts, movie screenings, an outdoor classroom, and other various Campus Activities Board events.

The student senate would like to spend around 40-45 thousand dollars and has a few options to finance the project. The first option would be to finance the whole project themselves and be reimbursed 40-45 thousand dollars at a later date when the foundation finds a donor. The price of steel is projected to rise by 30% by December, so passing this within the week could possibly save money. The second option would be to secure a donation from the foundation and finance the project at a later date, which may be more costly as the price of steel inflates.

Many members of the senate were not keen to pass the project this week, as the foundation does not have a current doner, and there is the possibility that the foundation could not find a donor. With the price of the amphitheater currently costing almost the entirety of the student senate’s $84,300 budget, the senate decided not to move forward on the project until more information was gathered.

Many members of the senate stressed that they would like to find out what percentage of the student population is interested and would use the outdoor space.

The next and only motion that passed during the meeting was an implementation of an emergency phone on the new trail at Missouri Southern, provided by the city and the state. The campus trail project has been on the docket for over 10 years, but came to fruition over the last year. The campus’ half-mile trail will soon be lit up with approximately 30 lights, and has cameras that will operate off WiFi to send signals back to the data center, where the information will be hard wired and saved for 70-80 days. The Student Senate voted on the possibility of adding an emergency phone along with the lights and cameras to make students feel safer.

The motion unanimously passed and the Student Senate are providing $4,000 to help pay for the expenses of the emergency phone.

The COVID Taskforce committee was also looking to get more responsiveness from students who use the Campus Clear technology, which helps aid students in knowing when to quarantine as well as contact tracing. Members of the Senate remarked that the reminder provided by the app was inconsistent, and that not many students even know about the tech itself.

The C.A.B is still looking for participants for the haunted trail activity this Friday, and a reminder that there are still two vacancies in the Student Senate. Seek out Student affairs for those interested.