The Student Government Association passed legislation calling on officials to remove the fences surrounding University Yard and established a committee to investigate SGA members’ conduct at the last senate meeting of the term on Monday.

The SGA unanimously passed the Remove the Fences Act, which asked the University to tear down the fences officials installed around U-Yard following the pro-Palestinian encampment last spring. The legislation also asked officials to disclose the cost of implementing and sustaining the fences to the student body.

SGA Sen. Claire Avalos (CCAS-U), said The Hatchet’s reporting showed there is a “consensus” among students that it’s time to take down the fences around U-Yard, as they “deter” students from using the “few” available green spaces on campus.

“Shortly after their installation, the fences were causing issues, including ruining the beauty of U-Yard, creating accessibility issues for students with disabilities and signaling the university’s unwillingness to listen to the concerns of students,” Avalos said.

After the Metropolitan Police Department cleared the pro-Palestinian encampment in May, officials temporarily installed fences around U-yard and Kogan Plaza. Officials removed the temporary fences around Kogan Plaza in July but installed 8-foot-tall metal fences around U-Yard, completing construction in December.

Avalos and SGA Sen. Pro Tempore and Vice President-elect Liz Stoddard both called on the University to remove the fences around U-Yard during the vice presidential debate.

In the past, the University has closed U-Yard’s fences during pro-Palestinian protests, presumably to prevent demonstrators from entering. The University website previously stated that officials would open U-Yard daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m, but they have since removed the hours from the website.

“The University has used the fences as an example to intimidate and deter students from exercising their right to free speech and assembly,” Avalos said.

The SGA also unanimously passed the Elevating Transparency through High Integrity and Conduct Standards, or the ETHICS Act, to hold SGA members who violate professional conduct accountable.

Stoddard, the sponsor of the ETHICS Act, said this legislation creates a “deterrent” against misconduct by launching internal investigations and publishing reports against members who commit alleged conduct violations.

“This ethics committee’s goal is to make sure that us, as senators, are serving, are following the code of conduct and are making sure that we are doing everything in our power to be the best representatives for our constituents,” Stoddard said.

The legislation created the Committees on Ethics, which will have the power to investigate allegations of “severe” or “persistent” misconduct such as harassment, abuse of power, neglect of duties and misrepresentation of information.

The deputy SGA Senate pro tempore will serve as the chair of Committees on Ethics, and the president will nominate five members of the student body to be confirmed by the senate by a majority vote to serve on the committee, the legislation stipulates.

When an SGA member files a complaint, the committee will decide whether to launch an internal investigation to gather additional “relevant” information or dismiss the complaint through majority vote, per the approved legislation. The committee will document all findings from the internal investigation in a public report, and all public reports against a candidate will be explicitly indicated on SGA election ballots alongside a candidate’s name.

Stoddard said community members currently lack the power to hold their SGA senators accountable, which the legislation seeks to address.

“The biggest thing is that we cannot be our own accountability mechanism,” Stoddard said. “It is up to our constituents, and so we must create ways to empower them to hold us accountable.”

The SGA Senate also unanimously passed the Department of Education Resolution to formally recognize students’ right to a “fair” and “equitable” education.

SGA Sen. Sophie Munson (CCAS-U), the sponsor of the legislation, said it expresses support for student’s right to education in a time where the Trump administration has threatened the existence of the Department of Education.

“This resolution affirms that we, the Student Government Association, will continue to advocate for students despite this uncertainty,” Munson said. “It also affirms that we will push for better academic policies and for a fair and equitable education”

The SGA unanimously passed the Guest Swipes Act, which called on the University to implement guest swipes for families and friends of GW students at the dining halls. The legislation did not specify how many guest swipes each student would receive.

Munson, the sponsor of the legislation, said the University should add guest swipes free of charge due to rising tuition costs.

“These swipes will allow students to take their friends and family to dining halls without worrying about paying the costs up front,” Munson said.

Munson said eight of the University’s 10 peer schools have guest swipes at the dining halls.

Some of GW’s peer schools, like Boston University and Syracuse University, offer meal plans that featured a free guest pass for students to invite their friends and family to the dining hall.

The SGA unanimously passed fiscal year 2026 Operational Cost Allocation Part I Act to allocate funding to student organizations for the fall semester of the 2025-26 academic year.

SGA Sen. Jonesy Strell (CCAS-U), chair of the Financial Services and Allocations Committee and the sponsor of the legislation, said it will allocate $146,690.17 in operational costs across 215 student organizations for the upcoming fall semester.

The SGA Senate allocated $241,000 to student organizations for the fall semester of the 2024-25 academic year last April.

The SGA allocated less general funding to organizations next fall because of the body’s shift to an event-based funding model, where student organizations can request funding on a weekly basis for events throughout the year starting next fall.

The SGA Senate unanimously approved SGA President Ethan Fitzgerald’s Pride Day executive order, which called on the SGA to host another pride day event next spring semester.

The SGA Senate also unanimously also passed the Graduated Affairs Team Enshrined executive order, which creates a Graduate Affairs Committee in the executive cabinet to represent graduate students in future administration.

In honor of the last meeting, the SGA unanimously passed nine pieces of “appreciation” legislation to recognize and celebrate the work of SGA members during their tenures.

The acts included the Fantastic Fitz Act and the Lynne It To Win It Act to honor Fitzgerald and SGA Vice President and President-elect Ethan Lynne for their accomplishments.

The first meeting of the newly elected SGA Senate will take place at 8 p.m. in the Media and Public Affairs Building.