Associated Student Government senators will introduce two bills at tonight’s Senate meeting — one proposing an end to Freshman Freeze and the other calling for an online carpool system.
Bassel Korkor, senator for the Middle-Eastern Students Association, is the author of a bill calling for an end to Freshman Freeze, which prohibits freshmen from entering fraternity houses during their first month on campus.
Prohibiting new students from entering fraternity houses forces many students to explore social alternatives off-campus, which some consider less safe than on-campus activities, Korkor said.
He said this prohibitive measure paints the Greek community in a negative light.
“Freshman Freeze promotes this stigma,” said Korkor, a Weinberg senior. “There are two places (freshmen) aren’t allowed to go: bars and fraternity houses.”
The Freshman Freeze began in 1991 when only four of the 22 fraternity houses were dry and many risk management programs had not been implemented. Changes in the last decade have prompted the Interfraternity Council to lobby for more than a year to end the freeze.
The second bill, which calls for an online ride-sharing message board, will be presented by Willard Residential College Sen. Matthew Budow.
Many colleges already have similar Internet forums, said Budow, a Weinberg sophomore. Northwestern had such a site linked to HereAndNow until Fall Quarter.
ASG also will hear proposals to amend the organization’s bylaws.
The Rules Committee voted Tuesday night as part of its annual constitutional cleanup to propose Senate elections rather than presidential appointments for ASG’s technical director, campus public relations chairman and external relations chairman.
Senators also could vote on three bills at Wednesday’s meeting that were presented last week, including the availability of dissection alternatives in biology classes, an increase in funding for accessibility improvements and the option to buy textbooks separately from lab manuals and other supplemental materials.
The Rules Committee was slated to discuss new spring election guidelines Tuesday night but voted to table the review until next week.
The guidelines could be presented to Senate at next week’s meeting.
Tonight’s meeting is open to the public and will be held at 7 p.m. in Norris University Center’s Northwestern rooms.
