The Undergraduate Senate declared at their meeting Sunday the need for a Good Samaritan Policy at AU, and passed a resolution to support the Student Advocacy Center's proposed changes to the university's policy.
The senate also shelved proposed changes to the EagleBuck$ system.
Although the senate cannot change or create policy related to alcohol transports or disciplinary action for students, the representatives voted to bring the issue to the attention of the AU community.
Twenty-eight student senators unanimously supported a petition to add a statement to the Student Code of Conduct, which would explain to students the AU policy on calling for alcohol transports.
The senate also postponed a proposed change to the EagleBuck$ system, which would allow students to have negative values on their cards.
School of Public Affairs Sen. Nathan Bronstein, who wrote the bill, said students sometimes are short a few cents or dollars when they cannot immediately add more EagleBuck$. Under the negative credit system, students with a negative balance at the end of the year would have a stop on their account until they repaid the amount, he said.
Assistant Director of Housing and Dining Paul Lynch said he did not agree with the change because a similar negative credit system was unsuccessful at AU in the past, Bronstein said.
Currently students who call an alcohol transport for a friend do not face judicial sanctions, as long as no policy violations are present (i.e. presence of alcohol or other drugs), but Class of 2010 Sen. Georgette Spanjich proposed codifying AU policy so all students know exactly what consequences they face for their decisions.
Spanjich told the senate she hopes the resolution will help the efforts of the Student Advocacy Center, which aims to include the Good Samaritan Policy in the university's current transport policy.
An ideal Good Samaritan Policy would provide a student who requested medical attention for a friend an exemption from policy violations, according to the Student Advocacy Center Director Emily Wheldon, who spoke before the senate. Now, the conduct code only discusses disciplinary consequences for the student who was transported, she said.
Judicial Affairs and Mediation Services rely on an advisory board for all changes to disciplinary policy, Wheldon said.
You can reach this staff writer at klitvin@theeagleonline.com.
