The Associated Student Government will debate and vote on six bills tonight and hear addresses on Senate goals and the state of the Senate at the first meeting of the quarter.
The new lawyer ASG hired to give students free legal advice will address the Senate, as will members of the Undergraduate Budget Priorities Committee. Senators also will learn the identity of this year’s Martin Luther King Day keynote speaker.
ASG External Relations Chairwoman Jada Black and Elder Hall Sen. Bryan Tolles wrote three bills regarding student voting in public elections.
“We thought this was a great time to push for (voting reform),” said Black, a Medill junior. “That way the legislators will see it’s not related to a particular candidate or cause, but rather it’s about enfranchising all Northwestern students.”
One bill asks NU to comply with the Higher Education Act, a federal act that requires colleges and universities to actively register students to vote, Black said. Another calls for the Evanston Public Library polling place to move to Norris University Center.
Kellogg Prof. Allan Drebin, who lost to Ald. Arthur Newman (1st) by 57 votes in a City Council election in the spring, said having a polling station in Norris might have made a difference in the race.
“They allow the voters in the retirement homes to just take an elevator down to vote and get 99 percent turnout,” Drebin said. “If we had even gotten 25 percent (of students to vote), I would have won the election. If we are going to encourage students to participate in the electoral process, we have to make it convenient for them.”
The third bill concerns redistricting voting precincts so all North Campus dorms vote at Patten Gym. The 2001 election created some confusion about where students were required to vote when residents of Delta Chi, 600 Lincoln St., Hinman House and Elder Hall had to vote at Kendall College.
In addition to the bills regarding student voting, the Senate will vote on a bill to expand the escort service and implement a wage increase for drivers. Some students had criticized Senate for waiting too long to address safety concerns after the Oct. 8 attack of a graduate student on the Lakefill.
Two other bills call for converting the coffee shop at 600 Lincoln St. to a rehearsal space for theater groups, because plans for Slivka Hall include a coffee shop, and a bill to restrict public access to Ph information, NU’s electronic phone and address database.
Also at Wednesday’s meeting, members of the Undergraduate Budget Priorities Committee will present the report they are taking to administrators next week. Administrators typically grant most of the committee’s requests, ASG President and committee member Jordan Heinz said. This year’s priorities include bringing cable television into the dorms.
Heinz also will discuss how well the Senate has progressed on the goals set at its September retreat, including better relations within the Senate, improved relations with the administration and a focus on student-centered legislation.
“Usually we have made progress on one goal and we still have to work on the other goals,” said Heinz, an Education senior. “We’ve done very well in improving administrator relations, (but) we can still do more to improve ASG’s image.”
The state of the Senate address will show that ASG accomplished about as much Fall Quarter as it did the same quarter last year, said Speaker of the Senate Bassel Korkor, a Weinberg junior.
But both Heinz and Korkor said ASG accomplishes the most in Winter Quarter.
“Winter Quarter is usually the most productive quarter for ASG because it’s toward the end of the executive board’s time in office,” Heinz said. “We’ve had the most experience and know how to get things done faster and more efficiently.”
