Year was filled with tuition battles and campus safety concerns

After a year of tuition negotiations, student housing concerns and other issues, the 13 ASUA officers and senators will end their terms today at noon.

During the year, the student leaders dealt with tuition battles, housing caps, advising modifications and safety issues.

Outgoing President Ray Quintero, who lobbied the Legislature with the Arizona Studentsā Association came out with a zero percent tuition increase proposal after President Likins initial proposal of 12 percent.

Although the Arizona Board of Regents eventually decided to hike tuition by 4 percent, Quintero said after the decision that he was pleased with the outcome.

ćI have a feeling the Legislature is going to realize they need to start increasing funding because itās not the responsibility of the students to pay for the budget shortfalls of the state,ä said outgoing Executive Vice President Sam Chang.

When the Department of Residence Life decided to apply a cap turning juniors and seniors away from the residence halls, ASUA worked with the Residence Hall Association and Residence Life to try to accommodate student housing requests on a case-by-case basis, Quintero said.

But ASUA had little impact in the situationās final outcome. The rule restricting housing to first and second-year students remained in place.

ASUA suggestion boxes, where students give input to their student government, showed signs of neglect when the executives took office this year and found suggestion boxes full with suggestions from up to six years ago.

Suggestions have moved out of the old metal boxes posted around campus and onto the ASUA Web site, which receives a large number of suggestions from students on campus that Quintero says have all been looked over.

Chang wanted to gather funding for philanthropic activities that clubs wanted to put together. He created a philanthropy task force director position. But the new director was unable to fulfill the duties of the job because of the poor economic positions companies are in, Chang said.

Safety has been an issue of concern throughout the year, especially in light of several sexual assaults last semester and a recent rash of sex crimes late last month.

ASUA Sen. Gloria Macias lobbied to get 34 more blue light emergency telephones on campus.

Next year will be the start of Student Lifeline, a program put together by Sen. Josh Maxwell, that will offer students a free taxi ride home, intended to decrease the number of people walking home at night during the hours SafeRide does not operate.

ćThis is a great opportunity to enhance safety through 24-hour emergency transportation,ä Maxwell said when the program was approved in March. ćI think itās a great thing.ä

Club Olympics ÷ an ASUA event brought to bring clubs together by ASUA Sen. Jennifer Reece and the Courtesy Shuttle ÷ a free service that shuttles students to and from a grocery store organized by ASUA Sen. Sarah Calvert ÷ were the other two top programs.

Inaugurations for the new executive leaders and senators will take place at the Old Main Fountain today at noon.