SGA votes to create a sensory room at Tarleton

By Makenzie Plusnick—

Opinion Editor

The Student Government Association voted to pass Resolution E-19 yesterday. Resolution E-19, sponsored by Congressperson for Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, George Reisinger, moved to create a sensory room at Tarleton for students who may need access to a quiet environment. This would be one of the few sensory rooms in Texas and across the country.

Reisinger, who has level one autism, found that this is a need for students who have different disabilities. At Tarleton, there are 10 students with auditory processing disorders, 77 with hearing impairments, 11 who are deaf, 4 blind, and 20 students who are on the autism spectrum, though Reisinger says there may be some overlap in these numbers and unsure about possible locations.

Whilst there are multiple devices out there on the market to help people suffering from conditions such as hearing loss, the sensory room will be extremely beneficial to the students who seem to be struggling in busy environments. Some of these students already seem to make use of the best hearing impaired phone to help them understand more. Technology is constantly adapting to help people suffering from conditions like these, in order to give them a more normal life. The addition of having both a sensory room and a specialized phone shows the improvements that are being made to help people with disabilities feel like normal teenagers.

“All I know is I’m trying for the student center,” he told the members of SGA. He also spoke about the possibility of using the previously used room to house TAT (Tarleton Alternative Transportation) or possibly having the room moved to a different location.

Members of SGA expressed their enthusiasm for this resolution. Many said they think this is just another way to make Tarleton more student-centered and open the university to a more diverse group of students.

Resolution E-19 was passed unanimously.

SGA was also updated on the status of pieces of legislation that were passed the previous week. Resolution C-19, a piece of legislation moving to build a sidewalk on the far side of the business building along Washington, is currently being worked on. Dr. Kelli Styron, Vice President of Student Affairs, said that work on this will begin when the new engineering building is completed.

Dr. Styron also said Resolution D-19, a piece passed to expand class sizes and sections, is not currently able to happen. According to her, the school is currently utilizing all its resources, though she knows getting into classes is a growing concern for many. She also voiced that if students are able to stay on the right path through advising, they should be able to get into the classes they need during their four years at Tarleton. She said seniors who need overrides to get into classes typically get into them, and the school is unable to do anything else about this concern currently.