The agenda was full of new business at Thursday night’s SGA Senate meeting.

The meeting was opened with President Jennifer Ogg reading a resignation letter from Sen. Matt Elsroad in which he said his main obligation, in addition to academics, had become “saving” the Department of Geology, Geography and Physics, which faces cuts. He was replaced by Blake Brannon, a sophomore Electrical Engineering major from Alamo.

First on the list in new business was Senate Resolution No. 2 (the “Harber resolution”), dealing with campus parking.

The resolution proposes that Lot 12, located behind the Communications Building and currently classified as non-commuter parking for residents of Cooper and Clement Halls, be reclassifiedas commuter parking.

In her resolution presented to Senate, Sen. Laura Harber said Lot 12 “is not being utilized to the fullest extent,” and that the students and staff who use the lot “have plenty of parking already they do not need,” concluding that “there is no reason that this area ... should remain as Cooper and Clement parking only.”

The resolution did not specify how many spaces should be given to commuting students, and was ultimately passed by the Senate.

While the item was not on the agenda, Sen. Joey Pierce of Business and Public Affairs requested that Secretary General Pamela Bartholomew read the attendance records of Senate.

A prepared record indicated that Matt Maxey and Kevin Teets had both exceeded the maximum number of absences per semester.

The next Senate meeting will be 9 p.m. Nov. 19 in UC 111.

Text of Resolution

For the most part parking on our campus is not a problem, and the rules are clear. Students, both commuter and non-commuter park in their respective lots, and the staff personnel have plenty of parking within close proximity to their offices. Most problems with parking, however, arise when a reasonable amount of spots are not available in any given area.

There are a handful of these areas around campus; however, the major problem area is commuter parking on the south end of campus. This area is in close proximity to the Business Building, the Communications Building, Gooch Hall, and the Sociology Building. It is important to note that the commuter parking lots in this area of campus are almost always full. The southern most portion of parking lot # 12 which is presently designated as Cooper and Clement parking is not being utilized to its fullest extent. Because the students and staff that use Cooper and Clement dorms have plenty of parking already they do not need, and they do not use all that parking that is available to them in that lot. This problem is only evident in parking lot #12 because of the particular designation for parking in that lot and the obvious need for the lot to be designated differently. Along these lines, there is no reason that this area of parking lot #12 should remain designated as Cooper and Clement parking only.

As SGA senators our duty is to improve our campus and provide the best service to our fellow students. In light of this obligation we are responsible for helping students to have a better, more productive collegiate experience. Case in point, with this resolution we propose that at least a section of parking lot #12 should be designated as commuter parking. This proposal is being made in the hopes that something positive and pro-active will be done to help alleviate this problem.