Truman’s Closet has found its permanent home.

The Missouri Students Association Senate voted to make the program an MSA auxiliary Wednesday night, securing the availability of professional attire and educational services to MU students.

Senate Bill 53-15 was presented to committees and viewed under first readings in full Senate early last month but was tabled after concerns that the program had not demonstrated its full ability.

The bill returned to the floor under second readings of acts late Wednesday evening, fueling a debate among senators concerning the proper way to proceed. An amendment, later rescinded, was proposed to add a sunset clause to the bill that would require a review of the program’s progress in one year to ensure its effectiveness and as a fail safe should Truman’s Closet not meet expectations.

Among the opposition to the amendment were MSA President Nick Droege and MSA Vice President Zach Beattie, who argued that imposing this amendment would change little and would only serve to impose a double standard on the program. Beattie added that the amendment, symbolically speaking, could hinder the momentum of the program.

Operations Committee chairman Benjamin Bolin took the floor to offer Senate an alternative route, claiming that the guidelines that he and other senators had been working on were completed. Using standard parliamentary procedure, the floor rules could be temporarily removed to allow Senate to first consider the set of guidelines and then resume discussion of Truman’s Closet. There was no motion in support of this solution.

There were also efforts to table both the amendment and the bill itself, both of which failed by a majority vote. Despite the contention on the floor, the senators expressed unanimous support for the program itself, culminating in the passing of the original bill and applause. Senate Speaker McKenzie Morris thanked the senators for their debate and reminded the body of the importance of such deliberation.

Truman’s Closet, which opened Oct. 1, has served 26 students with 30 checkouts to date and has received a steady stream of donations that has set it on course to become self-sustaining.