The Associated Student Government Senate passed emergency legislation in response to the recent earthquake in Haiti at its Wednesday night meeting.
The senators voted to create an ASG ad-hoc committee to raise awareness on the issue and coordinate fundraising on campus, said David Chase, residential college board district four senator.
The legislation was approved in the Executive Board meeting held prior to Senate. Chase, a Weinberg freshman, introduced the bill in Senate and will head the committee. The bill passed unanimously.
Chase said he hopes to organize committee meetings in the next few days and accomplish “something big” on campus by Feb. 1.
“We need to use ASG resources to reach out to NU and find people who are willing to help out and donate,” he said, adding that he was looking for about 15 people to join the committee.
The effort could include a clothing drive and will involve students outside of ASG, Chase said.
“I hope the whole campus will be aware and empathetic,” he said.
Senators also discussed a bill to enable wireless Internet in all classrooms.
While the majority of Northwestern classrooms have wireless Internet access, there are certain places on campus, most notably in Fisk Hall and the Technological Institute, which lack wireless capabilities, according to ASG members.
Chase, who introduced the bill, said the reason some locations still don’t have wireless is that some instructors prefer to teach where students can’t get on Facebook or check e-mail during class.
ASG members said they want to enable wireless access in all classrooms because it offers more benefits for instructors and students, such as opportunities to research online and access Blackboard during class.
“What we are looking at is whether students have the right to go on the Internet in class,” Chase said. “The benefits of wireless are vast. If teachers don’t want them online, they can tell students not to bring laptops to class.”
ASG Academic Director Muhammad Safdari said he and ASG President Mike McGee have mentioned this issue to the administration before, but no changes have been made. If this legislation is passed next week, ASG can present the demand to the administration as the will of the student body, Safdari said.
Also, following the resignation of former ASG Student Groups Director Miles Drummond, a Communication senior, last week, ASG members elected SESP senior Daniel Diorio to serve on the selection committee for a new director.
“There are lots of important things for student groups to work on, so we need to get someone to fill in as quickly and efficiently as possible,” McGee said.
At the end of the meeting, McGee, a Communication senior, reminded senators that the zoning board meeting to decide the fate of the Great Room will be held 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Evanston Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.[email protected]
