ASMSU works to ban cited animal acts from campus

ASMSU hopes to ban exotic animal acts from MSU.

Its Student Assembly passed a bill at a joint meeting March 5 to mandates this goal.

The bill will be presented to Academic Assembly at a meeting today.

ASMSU is MSU’s undergraduate student government.

In January, MSU administrators did not allow the Royal Hanneford Circus to come to Breslin Center for the first time since 1992. According to the bill, ASMSU wants the Board of Trustees to continue this ban.

“It’s a vote of confidence in the students standing by the initial decision of the Board of Trustees not to sign the contract for one year with the Royal Hanneford Circus,” said Mitchell Rivard, a James Madison representative in Academic Assembly.

The bill states that ASMSU will urge the MSU Board of Trustees to ban animal
acts that have received citations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture within the past five years from come to campus.

“I think it reinforces that point that MSU students, specifically our constituents, don’t stand for animal cruelty and businesses and corporations that have citations against the Animal Welfare Act,” Rivard said.

“It’s a huge step forward in terms of student power and making their voices heard.”

Students Promoting Animal Rights, or SPAR, spearheaded the effort to ban the Royal Hanneford Circus from coming to campus and some of the group’s members attended the ASMSU meeting.

Some members also spoke to ASMSU about animal abuse.

“This is a message to the Board of Trustees that the feeling on campus regarding animal rights are clear,” SPAR President and State News guest columnist Drew Winter said.

“It’s good that ASMSU and SPAR see eye to eye on the issue.”

Student Assembly Chairperson Michael Webber said it is important ASMSU take a stance on issues important to students.

“I’m open to any initiative that students bring to our attention,” he said. “I definitely think it deserves to be looked into more and I think that if groups are abusing animals, then it needs to be addressed.”

The bill passed in Student Assembly by a 7-0-8 vote.

The large number of abstained votes was unacceptable, Webber said.

“If people do abstain, I just want to reiterate that it should be for a conflict of interest, which several assembly members did state that they did have conflict,” he said. “In that case, it’s appropriate, but I would just encourage all the representatives to vote on stances, especially if it’s a controversial issue.”