Sixteen new student organizations submitted charters this year, an unusually high number according to Student Union.

While most organizations received their charters, one was denied and two were passed contingent on significant changes after strong concerns were voiced by student senators. Some charters did not get through the Student Life Committee.

The Transgender Advocacy Group was rejected for not defining “safe space” in the context of its meetings, student senator Ronnie Goines said.

“The support group meeting is a safe space for all people who transcend gender norms within existing binary systems,” according to TAG’s charter. TAG includes advocacy and support branches.

No TAG members could be reached for comment.

The Oberlin Student Athletic Advising Committee charter was passed after heated debate. Group member Mara Brecht said the organization is required under NCAA codes.

“SAAC is built on the principle of creating the best possible student athlete experience,” Brecht said. “Since Oberlin has often experienced criticism regarding the athlete experience, the founders of this group felt it was especially important to carry out this NCAA requirement at Oberlin.”

The charter was passed contingent on either adding the word “varsity” in the name, or allowing members of club sports to hold leadership positions. But SAAC members were unable to revise the charter between the Senate meeting last Sunday night and the charter deadline Monday.

“I’m under the impression that it is not a problem with the charter so much as the process of getting charters,” Brecht said. “Perhaps there were a few glitches in the charter, but there was not enough time to change them.”

Goines expressed strong concern over the Senate’s handling of SAAC’s charter.

“Sweeping assumptions were made about varsity athletics which showed me how non-varsity athletes and non-athletes view varsity athletics,” Goines said. “It was no different than any other marginalized group asking to be chartered once they form an organization. I felt discriminated against as a varsity athlete.”

A charter for a student paper dedicated to expressing the views of Africans, African-American and Caribbean students on campus called Demze, meaning “voice,” was passed contingent on defining what constituted an active member and what constituted staff.

Student Senator Morgan Shelton expressed support for the paper.

“It would serve a need not met right now,” Shelton said. “It would benefit the black community. We have needed it in the past, we need it now, and it will serve us positively in the future.”

Goines disagreed with Shelton.

“I personally was not in favor of this group getting chartered,” Goines said. “I thought the group was a bit redundant in comparison to other groups and publications on campus. I didn’t think their goals were very realistic. Their target audience was also ambiguously worded.”

First-year Demze member Tiana Wallace said the charter was proposed before any people of color publications other than As I Am, the Asian-American literary magazine, were in circulation. Wallace said that neither Nomo nor In Solidarity, were being published when Demze was proposed last year.

While there was concern, the Student Senate approved the charter. The Student Senate is only blocks charters on the grounds of fairness, discrimination, and student laws.

Other organizations include Oberlin Alternative Fuels, which will convert cooking oil from Campus Dining Services and Oberlin Student Cooperative Association into bio-diesel for use at the Jones Farm; the Student Assocation for Transformational Education, which will offer educational workshops for actors, musicians, and other performers; and the Student Bioethics Initiative, which will facilitate discussion on ethics in biology on campus and in the world.

Other student organizations that proposed charters include Oberlin Students in Solidarity with Guatemala, the Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Grappling Club, the Oberlin Alternative Investment Club, Vipassana Meditators, and Omicron Delta Epsilon, an economics honors society.

Three charters that did not make it to the Senate were Oberlin Records, Oberlin Friends of the Family, and ObieTV.