Senate Referendum Seeks Student Input by Chris Anton This week students will have the opportunity to vote for a broad range of policy changes at Oberlin simply by going to their boxes in the Wilder mail room. Student Senate is enacting a 10-question referendum aimed at gathering student input on a variety of issues including dining policy, religion and tenure track Comparative American Studies positions. The initial reactions of those who read the questions were mixed. Some felt they were a positive step made by Senate toward effecting change on campus. Others, however, complained that the questions were poorly written, containing misinformation and a strong bias. One question pertains to the College’s recently rewritten sexual assault/rape offense policy. It asks if students feel that the administration “adequately educates and administers” the policy. Some feel that there is too small of a distinction made between educating and administering, arguing that many students are unaware of changes in the policy. Issues over semantics aren’t the only concern being raised by students. Former senator Noah Heller, a College senior, was troubled by a question about increasing the student activity fee. “I don’t think the Senate went far enough with the…question,” he said. The Student Activity Fee (SAF) is currently $85 a semester per student and is added to term bills. This money is then dispersed by the Student Finance Committee to fund student organizations and activities on campus, ranging from Drag Ball to ultimate frisbee. The question asks whether the Student Activity Fee should be increased with the rate of inflation, noting that most bills including tuition generally rise at that rate. “Pegging the SAF to inflation is a good first start, but it also needs to be boosted so as to compensate for the smaller but increasingly active student body,” Heller said. “The school had 2900 students last year and hopes to shrink to 2750, perhaps even smaller. That leads to a loss of over $25,000 in total SAF funds.” The double-sided ballot begins with a written request that students refrain from voting if they have an “inadequate understanding of an issue.” It also offers the services of individual student senators and invites all students to attend weekly public Senate meetings on Sundays at 7 p.m. in Wilder 215. Other controversial items on the ballot include a mandatory $7 fee that would give students unlimited access to the Lorain County Transit system. A decision to lengthen reading period is also included. The referendum, which will soon appear in OCMR boxes, will run until 50 percent of the student body has voted. Results do not necessarily mean that slated items on the referendum will be implemented. Both students and administrators intend to use vote counts to determine appropriate courses of action.

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