The Oracle
T H U R S DAY, O C T O B E R 4 , 2 0 1 8 I VO L . 5 6 N O . 1 2
www.usforacle.com
U N I V E R S I T Y O F S O U T H F L O R I DA
What happens after students vote
SG wants to charge students a fee to help fund an on-campus stadium. Students will vote next week, but it may not matter. By Maria Ranoni N E W S
E D I T O R
With a referendum that’ll ask students if they’re willing to pay $6 to $9 per-credit-hour fee to help finance an on-campus football stadium officially on next week’s midterm ballot, Student Government (SG) is left to weigh the options of what comes next after students vote. Even if the student votes on the referendum are overwhelmingly in favor, it will not automatically begin the process of adding an extra student fee. The goal of the referendum is to gather student feedback, which SG will Even if the referendum is approved, it doesn’t mean a student fee will be immediately imposed. SPECIAL then use to pitch the fee to the TO THE ORACLE Board of Trustees (BOT). “While the results of the get from the students, if it’s of approval which carries much binding,” Yousef Afifi, who is referendum are not legally overwhelmingly in favor of the more weight than any clause that spearheading the referendum, binding, the input that we can fee, that will give us a stamp says something is or isn’t legally told The Oracle last week.
Sen. Yusuf Fattah said that if voters do give this ‘stamp of approval,’ SG will start the process of attempting to add the fee. “We’re going to have everything on our side logistically done and then we can go to the BOT and (Board of Governors) BOG,” Fattah said. “We can go to everyone we need to in order to get that fee approved because at the end of the day, we’re not going to charge students this money if we don’t have a concrete plan.” To get the fee approved, it would have to first be approved by USF’s BOT, then the BOG, and finally by the current Florida Governor.
n See FEE on PAGE 3
SAFE Team approved for three new golf carts By Alyssa Stewart A S S I S T A N T
N E W S
E D I T O R
After an hour-long discussion in the Senate Chambers on Tuesday about an unallocated cash request from SAFE Team’s director, senators asked themselves: Does SAFE Team need an extra $19,548 added to its budget for three golf carts? It depends on who you ask.
The bill passed with 24 Senate members voting yes and four voting no. Not all senators attended the meeting. Some senators were split on the decision because of the large sum of money and others were in full support to secure student safety. It would cost $33,191 to purchase three new golf carts, according to Kaelyn Steele, the
director of SAFE Team who made the request. SAFE Team sold four of its older golf carts to other departments on campus for a total of $10,500 in order to save money for a better quality fleet, according to Steele. Steele said SAFE Team was able to reduce the funding request because of the Activity & Service (A&S) fees for the 2018-19 fiscal year — $4,250 — and the
sale of the four golf carts, which makes up $14,750. Therefore, Steele said she requested $18,441 plus the six percent overhead fee — $1,107 — which would make up the $19,548 SAFE Team requested from the Senate. Senators had issues with $19,548 requested to fund the three golf carts, including Sen. Laura Diaz. “This is not something I see as
a dire need — its a golf cart — we literally see them driving around parking lots racing,” Diaz said in the Senate meeting. “Are we funding the safety of students or are we funding people to play in the parking garages.” Steele said disciplinary actions and privileges are being revoked for anyone abusing SAFE Team equipment.
n See CART on PAGE 3