SGA tables parking lot reform and Barnes green study space till spring semester
Academic affairs committee chair Brandon McDonald and sustainability chair Kalli Walz discuss a piece of legislation displayed on McDonald's laptop at a meeting of the SGA Senate Nov. 25. McDonald and Walz co-authored the resolution establishing the Barnes green study space.
Student government association tabled legislation aimed at parking lot reform and the establishment of a green study space on the former site of Barnes Hall at its Nov. 26 meeting, the last of the semester.
In partnership with Facilities Management, SGA is planning to furnish the site with amenities such as group hammock stations, solar powered picnic and charging tables, sustainable vegetation and showcases of student artwork.
The proposal was passed in the senate, but the house chose not to vote and to table discussion until SGA's next meeting, in the spring semester.
Neither of the parking reforms introduced last week were voted into effect.
One, which proposed lowering the first parking fine from $25 to $10, was rescinded because Parking Services told its authors it was “completely not willing to back down” on the fees.
The other, which proposed a combination of parking lot reforms – including adding parking spots for patients near the clinic in Foust Hall, lengthening the open parking hours near the North Art Studio and allowing campus employees to freely park at the lots closest to their place of work – was shelved until next semester after too many questions were raised in discussion.
Senators debating the legislation said they would have liked to see a more general, across-the-board solution to parking problems, rather than a variety of specific solutions in one resolution.
The next SGA meeting will take place in the Sarah and Daniel Opperman Auditorium at 7 p.m. Dec. 2. It won’t be a normal meeting though; it’s the SGA Showcase, where members including its senate and cabinet will present what they have been working on throughout the semester.
