Katie Ward
Staff Writer
In the first official Senate (ASUSF) meeting of the year, Vice President of Finance and sophomore Nick Wu stepped behind the podium to educate his fellow senators on updates that have been made to the Funded Account Code. The updates to the code–which dictate how Senate-sponsored student organizations obtain money–will either be adopted or denied based on the following week’s Senate vote. Continue reading Senate: Where Does the Money Come From?
Katie Ward
Staff Writer
Beginning this semester at the Foghorn, we will be reviving a former feature — weekly Senate (ASUSF) coverage. I will be attending each meeting as Senate Correspondent, and we intend to focus on several key topics. I, a first year Media Studies major with a double minor in journalism and politics, was selected to cover this regular report. This is my second semester at the Foghorn, where I also serve as the copy editor. Continue reading The Foghorn Reports on Senate meetings
Elizabeth Silva
Staff Writer
Eva Long ’15
President
This is Long’s seventh semester on Senate. “The reason I continued being on Senate is because I enjoyed the interactions that I had with my peers,” said Long, “and I truly believe that ASUSF Senate is the premier organization to get involved in if you truly want to make [a] positive change on the USF campus.” Over the next year, she hopes to increase the visibility and accessibility of Senate as an organization within the realm of Student Leadership and Engagement as well as the greater USF community as a whole.
Continue reading Campus Politics: Introducing Your Student Senate Executives
Tanya Dzekon
Staff Writer
A brief of ASUSF Senate’s recent meetings
USF plans to build a new residence hall, a new academic building for the Arts, and new athletic facilities, alongside other projects, as part of a 20-year development plan. Peter Novak, the Vice Provost of Student Life, presented USF’s Institutional Master Plan (IMP) at a Senate meeting on November 19.
The San Francisco Planning Department requires educational institutions to submit an IMP every 10 years to inform both city officials and the public about future facility and site plans on campus and their impact.
According to the IMF, USF’s housing quality is not competitive with many peer institutions. In 2011, the dorms accommodated only 38% of USF students. The new student housing would accommodate a higher percentage of students on campus and provide more housing options.
Novak said that the new dorms will probably be located where the ROTC building is now, and the new Arts building will either be placed below it, or in a new building that the university would purchase nearby.
The only obstacle to the development project is opposition from the neighbors.
The University Terrace Association (UTA), a neighborhood group, is concerned that the construction plans will increase the student population and consequently create traffic and parking problems. They are asking USF to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) before constructing a new residence hall. The EIR could take up to a year to create, which would hold off the project.
In 2010, the same neighborhood group appealed USF’s plan to construct the John Lo Schiavo Science Center because of similar concerns. In early 2011, the Foghorn reported that a compromise — limiting construction hours and improving long-term communication — between the UTA and USF was reached.
If an agreement is reached, Novak projected that the new residence hall will be built at least 4 years from now.
Koret Health and Recreation Center receives $1,000,000 from Susan Koret, lifetime Board Chair of Koret Foundation
Guest speaker Chuck White, Director of Recreational Sports Department of Koret Health and Recreation Center, updated students about the Koret Center.
Susan Koret gave the center $1,000,000 grant in light of the student outreach and programing
they have done, and that money has been used to upgrade the “cardiovascular alley”, on the second floor of Koret. There are now 16 different TV channels, a renovated large and small weight room, and plans for all machines by the windows to be replaced.
Did you know?
Koret employs 109 students and 47 part-time students as staff, reported White. “Students always come first in Koret and they do everything for us,” he said.
Koret gives free half-hour lessons on any machine or any room for students getting acquainted with the Center.
Registered fall students are good to work out through intersession! However, if they’d like to use Koret during the summer, they must be registered for summer classes.
Senate policy on hazing may suspend reported clubs or funded accounts from ASUSF funding for 2 years
John Chibnall, ASUSF Senate President, and Echeagaray, Students of Color Representative, spoke about Senate’s Stance Against Hazing. Senior senator Taylor Jackson has motioned to amend the document under the “Be It Resolved” statement to change Senate policy so that any club or funded account that has been reported for hazing by the Office of Student Conduct (OSC) will be suspended from ASUSF Senate funding for two years.
Representatives of Senate decided to postpone discussion of the amendment for the following weekly meeting as to allow some time for Senate to work with OSC and Student Leadership and Engagement (SLE) to find out the best way to discipline organizations or individuals accused of hazing.
Public safety updates students on the shuttle service, Path Lite — a safety escort smart phone app, and on-campus sexual assault cases
Guest speaker Daniel Lawson, Senior Director of the Department of Public Safety, provided an update on upcoming projects and renovations in the department. Three projects he spoke about concerned the Public Safety shuttle, the emergency notification system, and sexual assault.
Thanks to funds from ASUSF, a second public safety shuttle was purchased in September to provide the service to more students. The shuttle will hopefully be ready by November, said Lawson, and will be introduced in late fall or as soon as possible.
On the topic of the safety on campus, Lawson and Jason Rossi, a representative from One Card, spoke about the recent glitch in the emergency email notification system. Public Safety reported a Google glitch as reason behind some students not receiving email alert of a crime that occurred on campus earlier this semester. “ITS worked out the issue and hopefully it will never happen again,” Lawson said.
He also introduced students to Path Lite — a safety escort application for smart phones. If a student is walking from one area on-campus to another, the app will notify dispatch and will track the student’s movement around campus. If the student does not reach his or her final destination in a certain time, then dispatchers will be notified and report to the area. Path Lite was developed last October and, though it is still being tested, it is currently ready and available for use, said Rossi.
Public Safety reported a Google glitch as reason behind some students not receiving email alert of a crime that occurred on campus earlier this semester.
On the topic of sexual assault, Lawson spoke about the Title IX Investigations. There have been aggressive investigations of complaints of sexual assault on campus, he said. Public Safety has spent many hours investigating the situation through interviewing victims, suspects, and survivors. “This is happening behind the scenes because it is confidential,” he said. “So [Public Safety has] created a procedure where certain information was given to RA’s. If they believe there is a threat to everyone, then they will send out messages to everyone. So these are the challenges they have. They are not trying to cover anything up, they are just under confidentiality.” The Gender and Sexuality Center had a presentation last night about the forces in male culture that may lead to sexual assault and ways to stop and solve the crimes of sexual assaults on campus and at large.
