Emotions ran high in the Eynon Ballroom Monday evening, as Rowan’s Student Government Association (SGA) voted down a resolution that could’ve changed healthcare and wellness at Rowan University.

Dubbed “Rowan Well,” the resolution, proposed by SGA President Rbrey Singleton and others, aimed to provide students with six new counselors, three new healthcare educators, an alcohol and drug counselor, an OB-GYN nurse and a psychiatric nurse practitioner. The new plan would include a $50 fee per semester per student.

Furthermore, the resolution would’ve also set up a fund for replacing Rowan EMS’s vehicles on a regular basis, as well as fund the creation and upkeep of a new wellness center building on Rowan Boulevard.

The resolution aimed to solve the problem which occured last semester when Rowan’s Wellness Center faced backlash and protests when it began instituting copays and putting students on waiting lists seeking treatment.

Although the resolution seemed to solve the problems facing the Wellness Center, not all were excited about the bill.

Many, including Assistant Vice President of Facilities and Operations Rob Emmanuel, believed the resolution itself was a dangerous precedent and would be difficult to flip for students. While the university doesn’t allocate enough money for the Wellness Center, this plan would not raise tuition.

“They packaged up in a nice way what the Wellness Center needs, and I don’t think there’s any argument to say that the Wellness Center didn’t need all the things that are proposed in that bill, because they do,” Emmanuel said. “But rather than owning up to the mistake, they wanted to foot it as a student activities fee. So this way they can go around and say ‘look we have this low tuition rate.’ All the while, there’s all these hidden fees and the University gets to save face and I don’t think that’s right.”

As the Senate voted down the resolution, some, including senior advertising major Hillary Gooding, believed that the Senate cared more about their organizations than students as a whole.

“When they voted, they didn’t vote for the student body as a whole. They didn’t really think about people, they were just kinda thinking about themselves,” Gooding said. “They didn’t think about the actual consequences involved.”

Moreover, with the resolution being brought up two hours before the meeting, some individuals in the room felt that there was a lack of communication between the E-board members and the senate.

“With a proposal that’s this important, I feel that the E-board should’ve called for a meeting at some point before a vote,” said senior communications studies major, Curtis Gunter. “If they knew that something was going to be brought up, they would’ve at least had the information in front of them.”

Even so, with the possibility of the Wellness Center being understaffed, Rowan’s problems could continue if the EMS squad loses some of their vehicles due to wear and tear, unless further bills are passed by at least 2020.

SGA will hold its final senate meeting of the semester on Dec. 10 at 7 p.m.

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