Senate transfers funds

to create shuttle service
At its meeting Wednesday night, the ASUO Senate dissolved Nightride, merged the organization into Project Saferide and changed the name to Assault Prevention Shuttle. The move came in response to a ruling from the federal Office for Civil Rights that Saferide, a women-only service, violated Title IX’s gender equality requirements.

The reconstituted Assault Prevention Shuttle will provide many of the same services as Nightride and Saferide, but women and men will no longer ride separately.
The senate transferred a total of $32,098 from various Nightride funds to make the move happen.
The voting was nearly unanimous, with one different senator voting no on a rotating basis for each of the numerous transfers.
Senators displayed some confusion as to whether having one “nay” vote would make it easier to reconsider a motion that has already been passed, should that become necessary.
“(It’s) an urban legend,” Ombudsman Mike Sherman said.
ASUO Vice President Eddy Morales thought the opposite.
“With one nay vote, it is easier to recall it,” Morales said.
Sherman promised to investigate the matter and give a full report at next week’s senate meeting.
The senate also responded to ASUO President Maddy Melton and Vice President Eddy Morales’ decision to veto an International Student Association request for funds.
When senators passed the $350 motion last week, they were under the impression that they were funding the ISA for the entire year instead of one term. Melton and Morales caught the mistake and exercised a “friendly veto,” according to Senator Kevin Day.
The senate reacted by funding the ISA with $116 for fall term.
Senators also rejected a motion to provide a spending guideline for the year by a six to nine vote.
The motion would have advised senators to spend 30 percent of their surplus funds fall term, 30 percent winter term and 40 percent spring term. Morales and a few senators expressed concern that the motion could tie the senate’s hands.
“I’d recommend that you not set something else up that can slap you in the face later,” Morales said.
In other business, the senate nominated senators to internal committees. External committee nominations were postponed until next week.
The senate also briefly discussed some goals for the year, including investigating a resolution regarding student records and a possible student bill of rights.

— Chuck Slothower