Undergraduate Senate meeting discusses 24-hour library lounge, iClickers and Alert Carolina

Undergraduate Senate meeting discusses 24-hour library lounge, iClickers and Alert Carolina Categories: University Undergraduate Senate meeting discusses 24-hour library lounge, iClickers and Alert Carolina Student Body President Devin Duncan also gave a report, providing updates on the flyers left in the Ackland Art Museum with antisemitic and racist imaging and Flock cameras on campus. Caden Yao, Staff Writer • October 14, 2026 Allyson Bennett Speaker Liam Kiley talks to senators during the an Undergraduate Senate meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. At the Undergraduate Senate meeting on Tuesday, student government members met to discuss progress on a 24/7 library initiative, an iClicker loan commission, the formation  of the Carolina Engineering Collective, and updates on Alert Carolina notifications and flyers left in the Ackland Art Museum. 24-hour library space update The meeting began with the swearing-in of new first-year senators before proceeding to a report from Speaker Liam Kiley, who announced that the senate’s urinal divider project is complete, with dividers installed in every building on campus. Additionally he said progress towards a 24-hour lounge in Davis Library is underway.  The long-anticipated project will see the installation of a new entrance of the first floor, and is expected to take 18 to 24 months. Chair of the Rules and Judiciary Committee Hadley Pridgen said he’s looking forward to introducing an official senate endorsement of the project next meeting.  In an interview with The Daily Tar Heel, Student Body President Devin Duncan acknowledged Kiley’s involvement in the library project, but also stressed that it’s been an ongoing conversation for years. He said he was a bit surprised to hear Kiley frame it as a new student initiative. “I’ll tell you, based on the information that we got, they sort of were a bit embarrassed at the students’ reaction to their impeachment resolution, and so they put all of this legislation on the agenda to try to show students that they’re doing some sort of work,” Duncan said, referring to the impeachment resolution introduced during the last senate meeting on Sept. 29. Still, Duncan said, while library renovation is a long and costly process, work is underway, and students should stay tuned for updates regarding other 24/7 spaces in the lead-up to finals.  iClicker commission The senate also passed Senator Isabel Vilensky’s bill to establish a loanable iClicker commission. iClickers are required in many STEM classes to verify attendance, and can cost students up to $70. Additionally, Director of Academic Affairs Matthew Howard said students usually only use iClickers for a couple of classes. “Our plan is for students to donate iClickers after they don’t need them anymore, and we’d pass those iClickers on to students who do need them,” Vilensky wrote in a statement to the DTH.  Multiple senators spoke in support of the iClicker commission as a way to address the accumulated costs of attending UNC. Carolina Engineering Collective Additionally, senators passed a bill introduced by Finance and Appropriations Committee Chair William Steed to establish the Carolina Engineering Collective, which will allow for the merging of student organizations R.A.M. Engineering and Artificial Intelligence at UNC. The bill seeks to foster collaboration between the organizations while providing them with more funding than the $5,000 maximum that the senate can allot individual student organizations, Steed told The DTH. It will also provide additional oversight, as funds will go through a more rigorous vetting process, he said. “When an organization is looking to put a satellite into orbit, or construct a rocket, or even, they’ve made their own rocket fuel in the past, it’s really difficult to do that with just $5,000,” Steed said. Tensions over Flock cameras In his report, Duncan acknowledged the tensions from the last meeting and reported that the conversation regarding appointments for the Chief of Police Advisory Committee is still ongoing. He also addressed the recurring issue of Flock cameras, sharing that he continues to remain in contact with Chief of Police Brian James amidst considerations on whether to renew UNC’s contract with Flock in February.  This prompted a series of questions from Kiley about whether Duncan had asked James to end the contract. Duncan said he has not directly told him to do so, but that he’s made James aware of student opinion against Flock cameras. Duncan also said he’s trying to clarify whether the University may switch from Flock to other ALPR technology, and mentioned the potential uses of Flock cameras in issues like catching bike thieves. Ackland Art Museum flyers Duncan also provided an update on the flyers containing racist and antisemitic imagery left in the Ackland Art Museum.  Duncan said the administration was able to identify the student who posted them and that there was an extensive review of the incident and student. Duncan said that he believes the flyers were intended as part of a satirical political art piece, which also includes a section making fun of President Donald Trump. “I certainly recognize that people in the community view these as deeply offensive,” Duncan said. “I’m also cautious of using, I say, a loud voice to sort of make it seem like that someone’s intention was to send a harmful or disturbing message.” Alert Carolina updates Duncan also shared that he had met with UNC decision-makers to improve the Alert Carolina system to provide updates about serious and highly visible situations like the racially motivated attack at Greenlaw Hall.  Duncan told The DTH he worked with other community members, including Kiley, to communicate student feedback. On Wednesday, students received a mass email introducing Campus Safety Updates in response. Duncan cited the project as an example of the work that students might not know student government was involved in. “There’s a lot of work that happens in between the headlines,” he said. Kiley said to The DTH that this was a much more normal senate meeting than the previous one. “This is the kind of stuff we do all the time,” Kiley said. “But it doesn’t get covered because it’s not literally ‘the SBP is being impeached.’ But what I want students to really pay attention to is what student government itself is taking charge of outside of just asking admin to do things.” @dailytarheel | [email protected] 3 Like This Story Share on Facebook Share on X Email this Story Print this Story More to Discover More in University DNA evidence takes center stage during Faith Hedgepeth murder trial Students fight against suicide through boxing match Community members join 'DJ Provost Magnus' for University Day celebration at the Bell Tower UNC unveils new notification system upon identifying ‘gap’ after Greenlaw Hall attack Specialists who collected and examined crime scene evidence questioned in Hedgepeth murder trial Lead investigator, digital forensics specialist called to the stand to begin third week of Faith Hedgepeth murder trial