Two pieces of legislation that would work to improve student safety passed the Ball State University Student Government Association Wednesday.
Senators voted 25-8 to fix the Quad sidewalks so there are fewer cracks and areas of standing water when it rains. Senators also voted to find a way to reduce speeding near Woodworth Complex.
SGA Secretary Jessica Tindal said she did not have an exact count for the Woodworth bill because a majority of the senators voted to pass it.
Frank Hood, At-Large Caucus chairman and co-author of the bill, said he was pleased with the votes but expected more debate. Last week senators asked questions about the legislation, so, Hood said, he expected more questions. None of the senators asked anything more.
"It's good just to get legislation especially when you know it'll help people," Hood said. "Helping out [to fix] the sidewalks for students in general and especially for those with disabilities is what we should focus on."
Carrie Cozad, Student Safety Committee chairwoman and co-author of the bill, said she also expected more questions but was happy it passed.
"This is the starting point to get the ball rolling on more legislation," Cozad said.
According to the Woodworth bill, one of the solutions to reduce speeding would be to create a marked loading/unloading-only zone along the sidewalk in front of the residence hall. The second solution would be to create a marked parking zone along the sidewalk in front of the residence hall that also could be metered or unmetered, according to the bill.
Either solution would make the lanes in which vehicles drive more narrow, which would lead to reduced speeding, according to the legislation.
On-Campus Caucus Chairwoman Michelle Voss also was a co-author.
Bernardo Madrigal, a member of the Organizational Caucus, said the vote was in the best interest of the students.
"There are more cautious parts of campus that administrators might not be aware of that students notice," Madrigal said, "and for us to vote on something that'll benefit students will help."
Fixing the Quad sidewalks was a platform item for U.N.I.T.E.D. Initiative. Finding a way to reduce speeding near Woodworth was an issue senators addressed earlier in the semester.
Hood said the next step would be for the president pro tempore to send the legislation where it needed to go. He said as long as no major issues with the bills arose, Director of Public Safety Gene Burton and the head of the Office of Facilities Planning and Management would get the bills. If issues were found, then it would move through the university governance system.
"This is definitely a team effort," Hood said.
SIDEBAR:
Director of Campus Dining Jon Lewis also spoke with senators Wednesday about adding a brand-name eatery to the L.A. Pittenger Student Center. He said more than 3,000 faculty, students and staff participated in a survey, which was sent earlier in the semester, about the eatery and other dining issues.
Lewis said one of the biggest concerns respondents mentioned was adding healthy items to dining options. He said students also did not like how the healthy foods were expensive.
"I've got news for you," Lewis said. "It is expensive."
Lewis said Dining would look into getting smaller portions and would find ways to reduce the price.
Lewis also told the senators that on April 1 the Student Center's Cardinal Crossing would close for renovations. At that time, he said, Dining would add five areas with two of them being brand-name anchors.
He said he was surprised to see the No. 1 choice in the survey was to have healthy brand names compared to fast food brand names. The top four choices from the survey would be considered to go into the Student Center, he said while not giving specifics about what those choices were.
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