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The Star will next publish a print edition on Monday, Jan. 12, 2009.
SA approves expansion of Huskie Tracks GPS system amid debate
The Student Association Senate approved $27,000 to fund the expansion of the Huskie Tracks GPS system Sunday.
The money, which is from the mass transit committee’s reserve fund, will pay for five GPS screens to be placed in the residence halls. SA student trustee Shaun Crisler, along with mass transit director Brent Keller, was the primary driver behind the expansion.
“Recently, there has been a movement to get these monitors implemented inside the residence halls for more use and easy convenience,” Crisler said.
Documents obtained through the SA and containing data obtained by the Office of the Student Trustee put the cost of the hardware components of the screens at $4,844 apiece. In addition, the cost of the software is listed as a one-time fee of $595, and an annual fee of $420 for each monitor.
Software costs would be absorbed by the SA, while the hardware costs will be divided between the SA, the Residence Hall Association and each hall council.
The document states that the SA would pay $3,000, the RHA $1,000 and the hall councils $844 per monitor.
Crisler said the amount for each hall council to pay was designed so that the governing body could absorb the costs without “wiping out their budgets for the rest of the year.” In addition, the money would come from each hall council’s improvement fund, which remains largely untouched, Crisler said.
Currently, only the Grant Towers North hall council has approved of such funds. The document lists Lincoln Hall, Grant Towers South, Stevenson Towers North and Northern View Community as potential locations for the GPS monitors.
Senators debate
Several senators expressed positive support for the expansion. Sen. Robert Sorsby said the monitors could serve as an introductory tool to students unfamiliar with the buses.
“I feel it would get students more involved and get better acquainted with the Huskie bus,” Sorsby said.
Sen. Jason Looney also supported the expansion.
“To be able to monitor when the buses are coming, to have these screens available, to have people know they’re going to have that full support, to know that we stand out in that way, as a university, is awesome, in my opinion,” Looney said. “And this is part of the reason why I support this fully.”
Some senators, however, questioned the expansion. Sen. Jacob Swanson said he supported the expansion, but wondered if the money was not better spent on addressing the issue of overcrowding on buses.
“Why is it prioritized so much on the GPS fact when students aren’t able to get on the bus and go to class?” Swanson said.
Speaker Robert Batey questioned the practicality of the monitors, since every student can access Huskie Tracks from an Internet-connected computer, and computers are located in every residence hall lobby, he said.
“Some of the benefits are just mere convenience,” Crisler said, stating that computers in the lobbies are frequently used by students, and that not every student has a computer.
Seeking feedback
Sen. Cameron Harmon said he wanted to see more public opinion gathering from executives, and that hall council votes are not enough.
“While getting hall council votes are crucial votes, hall councils are roughly 4 percent of population of each hall, which is about 1,000 students,” Harmon said.
Sen. Eugene D. Smith expressed similar sentiments.
“The thing I have a problem with is that there is not enough student feedback,” Smith said. “If we are to spend this much money on the system, that we should, at least, have the full support of the student body, whom we are representing,” Smith said.
Smith also questioned the practicality of the monitors.
SA president Jarvis Purnell later addressed concerns that executives had not gathered enough public opinion, noting that senators could have done their own polling.
“To get more student feedback, I would say that is a plausible statement,” Purnell said. “However, if you feel that way, I would say that, as senators, go out there and get more feedback if that’s what you would like to do.”
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