Newly elected Community Senate officials Naz Urooj, Tamara Asad, Elizabeth Appenzeller, and Bryant Garnes, not stopping to bask in election triumph, are setting their political wheels in motion. A major issue concerning Senate and most students is what portion of the student activity fee will be set aside for each student organization. At this time, all cuts and additions are still to be decided.

Treasurer-elect Garnes said, “On April 6 and 7, the Budget Hearing Committee meets to discuss allotting funds to student organizations and clubs. All proposals for funding will have been submitted by that time.”

First-year retention is also on the mind of the Senate officials.

More activities such as pep rallies and date functions will be proposed by the new officials next year in an attempt to hold student interest and build community.

President-elect Urooj emphasized the establishment of a coffee shop on campus as a priority to facilitate student interaction.

The group will be in communication with Guilford’s new president to help him more effectively serve the college community.

“We will meet with the new president early and do what we can to encourage him to go to athletic events, Senate meetings, even attend hall meetings when possible,” Urooj said. “We want to establish a solid mutual understanding between the president and the students.”

Among the more innovative ideas proposed are those for revising drug and alcohol policies.

“We received a grant from the Governor’s Institute on Alcohol and Substance Abuse,” secretary-elect Appenzeller said. “We will be working with a task force including Mona Olds, David Heggie, Sylvia Chillcott, and the Greensboro police department to revise the policies in the rule book. An alcohol awareness week is being planned, featuring a number of activities to help students understand the consequences of alcohol abuse.”

Vice president-elect Asad said, “One of our priorities is instituting community service as punishment rather than fines for infractions.”

The Senate leaders-elect recognize that campus housing also needs attention.

Urooj, who in the fall was a Binford R.A., feels that the designation of Binford hall as a first-year dorm should be reconsidered.

“The segregation of first-years and upperclassmen in Binford this year was a tryout,” Urooj said. “Since no issues arose, the hall was designated all freshmen this year. It has caused several problems, and we’d like Res[idential] Life to rethink that decision.”

The group also proposes restructuring the meal plan.

“Many students preferred the ‘old system’ that involved paying for meals-used-per-week over the new carte blanche system, so we’re going to try and reinstate that,” Appenzeller said.

The Senate officials would also like to work with Sodexho- Marriott to get Subway on the meal plan, and possibly forge an agreement with Chick-Fil-A to offer discounts to students.

Another proposition is offering students credit for involvement in athletics. The Senate members will team with sports information director Dave Walters and athletic director Mike Ketchum to encourage the administration to offer one credit hour for each semester of sports played.

“The athletes have to put in time for their course work as well as to devote extra time to sports activities,” Asad said. “We think that something should be done to accommodate them for that.”

However, the paramount goal of the new Senate leaders is to better facilitate communication between students, faculty, and staff.

“Before the election, we promised the students that we would keep communication between them, the Senate, and the administration as open as possible,” Asad said. “They can expect that from us now.”