Student Council approved four pieces of legislation at their meeting last night, creating three ad-hoc committees and appointing a chair to the Building and Grounds Committee. Additionally, Vice President for Appropriations Anna Popova discussed the new CIO appropriations process.
One resolution called for the creation of a Presidential Debate Ad-Hoc Committee in hopes of securing the University as a site for one of the 2008 presidential debates.
"It's going to take a lot of work and a lot of effort with Student Council and President Casteen and the City of Charlottesville" to achieve that goal, said bill co-sponsor and Engineering Rep. Matthew White.
According to White, potential debate hosts must submit an in-depth proposal to the Commission of Presidential Debates. Some requirements include a minimum of 17,000 square feet of space, carpeted floors and an availability of hotel rooms.
"It seems that JPJ is the only place where we can go with it," White said, adding that the arena was created with events like this in mind.
According to the bill, the ad-hoc committee will exist "until a debate is completed or all efforts to host a debate are exhausted."
White emphasized the need for student involvement for a University hosted debate to happen.
"This is an effort that will take a lot of people," he said, explaining that many more people are needed on the committee to get the project moving.
Another resolution created an ad-hoc committee to look into the issue of a peer mentoring program for all University students.
"There are several peer advising programs at this school," said Peer Advising Ad-Hoc Committee Chair Ezana Teferra, citing programs for transfer, Asian and African-American students.
"This concept is something we can apply to all first years, and this is something we'd like to develop this year."
A third resolution created an ad-hoc committee in order to examine the issue of student-faculty interaction between Student Council and the Board of Visitors.
A fourth resolution appointed third-year Architecture student Brian Poulson as chair of the Building and Grounds Committee.
Additionally, Vice President for Organizations Anna Popova as well as Appropriations Co-Chair Daniel Warburton presented the new online appropriations budget system to Council.
"This is the first time that we've tried a completely online system for applying for money," Warburton said.
CIOs applying for money from the Appropriations Committee must now use this online system.
"It's an incredible tool," Warburton said. "We've made a lot of changes this year that will hopefully help everyone out in the long run."
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