Revised CatCard resolution faces vote at ASUA meeting

But the resolution has changed drastically since last Wednesday's Senate meeting, where it was tabled after several senators and Associated Students President Gilbert Davidson objected to some of its "strong" wording.

The revised document, rewritten by Sens. Mary Peterson and Morgan Long, includes three new paragraphs calling for specific action by the University of Arizona in dealing with the controversy surrounding its new identification card.

CatCard discussions began when the UA illegally released student, faculty and staff Social Security numbers to MCI Telecommunications Corp. and Saguaro Credit Union. University officials quickly retrieved the information, but protesters continue to raise concerns of privacy, prompting ASUA to address the situation.

One paragraph in the resolution calls for the UA to "educate all staff members on the regulations and guidelines for information protected by FERPA (The Family and Educational Rights and Privacy Act)."

Long said she wants the UA to keep officials who deal directly with student Social Security numbers fully informed about privacy regulations.

"In the future, they need to make sure that doesn't happen," Long said.

The resolution also calls for the CatCard advisory committee to be used as "a forum to discuss and act on student concerns."

Long said that was placed in the resolution so students would have the opportunity to bring up ideas and relay input.

The original resolution, written by senator-elect Marisa Hall and economics freshman Travis Klein, included more than a paragraph of information that Long and Peterson eliminated, including lines that stated, "This ASUA Senate issues this resolution in full denouncement of the precipitous institution of the CatCard."

Davidson told the Senate last week that he would not sign the resolution if it included such language, and Sen. Stephanie Lyons also said she was unsure about the wording.

"All this does is make people very defensive," she said at last week's meeting. "I don't think we need to attack."

Long and Peterson responded by deleting the paragraph that created the controversy, as well as a line that called for "an increased emphasis on the division between business and the educational institute of the University of Arizona."

Peterson said she felt the old resolution overstepped its bounds.

"This resolution is concerned with the CatCard, not the philosophy of the institution," she said.

But Hall said she is upset that the line, which she felt was important to the document, was removed.

"That was the whole point of it and so I don't see a reason to issue the resolution now," she said.

The Senate will vote on the resolution and six other items at its meeting tonight at 6 p.m. in the Memorial Student Union Tucson Room.