Adé Lasodé
“Two thirds” of SGA’s senate was absent at its Dec. 4 meeting, according to Parliamentarian Olivia Beverlie.
The meeting began almost 20 minutes late as SGA waited to see if additional members would show up.
Beverlie said only 13 voting members were present.
“We’re just not comfortable making decisions without the rest of the senate. We don’t want it to seem like an overreach of power,” she said.
Because of this, funding proposal could not be seen and clubs were notified their requests were pushed to the following week.
SGA invited representatives from the Student Transportation Center (STC) to discuss issues students had brought to their attention concerning the RamTram, campus safety, and parking.
STC Manager Josh Stiles said this semester, STC hired 36 new staff members, “which is the highest in STC history.”
However, he added many of students don’t want to work on campus because University policy limits them to only 20 hours a week.
Senators asked how many RamTram drivers are scheduled to work during Sunday afternoon and evening shifts because of the high volume of students being picked up from parking lots.
Currently, there are “two RamTram drivers and one parking lot driver” working Sunday nights, but Stiles said going forward, an additional parking lot driver is will be added for when it’s busier.
“We’re going to make sure we have a four-hour block when we have a second driver those nights, so we can handle that volume of people. ... We know Sunday nights can be chaotic,” he said.
Senator Lexi Kays asked if the RamTram could push its schedule “back five minutes,” so that students who end their shifts “let’s say 4:30 or like 11 in the morning” can make the RamTram.
Stiles said the drivers usually try to wait for everybody, and “sometimes we add time to the loop,” but when it’s more than a five-minute wait, the RamTram leaves because it needs to make other stops.
“There is the option to call and make sure they can wait,” Stiles said.
Senator Olivia Rothwell asked if another driver or a departure time before 4 p.m. or 4:20 p.m. could be added so that residents who work off campus can get to their cars and make it to their jobs earlier.
To provide some insight as to why a “third parking lot driver” would not be possible, Stiles said if a third RamTram driver were added, STC would be required to lease a new bus. This would cost “$12,000 ... and that’s not including gas, labor cost, and maintenance.”
Rachel Burgess, another STC manager in attendance, added in the month of October, it cost $6,000 to fuel the vehicles.
Stiles added, “Four years ago, we did not have a third driver. It was only the full-time driver and the second student driver. We’ve come a long way from where we were four years ago.”
Senator Adam Scanlon thanked the STC representatives for coming to the meeting, referring to the RamTram as “a luxury” that many schools don’t have.
He added, “It’s not on them to produce more shuttles. It’s on us as a community to ask our
administrators to put money where it needs to go and to lobby our state legislators to give education more funding.”
During the announcements, one of the eBoard members announced the Administrators’ Forum would be held next semester on Feb. 20, due to some scheduling conflicts.
Beverlie announced she will be stepping down from her position at the end of the semester because she will be studying abroad in Prague next year, “so the position is open to anyone who is interested in parliamentary procedures.”
FSU’s fifth Annual Giving Tree through the United Way’s Hope for the Holidays program will be receiving gifts from faculty and students who wish to participate. All gifts should be handed in to the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership Development (SILD) by Dec. 7 at 5 p.m.
Student Government & Club Coordinator Brendan Fraser introduced himself as SGA’s new SILD liaison, who will be present at every SGA meeting from now on.