Student Government Association senators will resume deliberation on a bill in tonight’s Senate meeting that would strike a designated-driver service from the SGA bylaws.
The bill would remove Students Against Drunk Driving Leaving Everyone Safe from its position as Title XI of the SGA bylaws.
“If some can get it running without it being part of SGA and by seeking other funding, then I wish them the best of luck,” Sen. Shayna Daitch said.
Daitch and Sen. Race Clark proposed the bill to remove the program in last week’s Senate meeting, but some senators used a method known as “minority protection” to table the bill for a week.
“Minority protection” refers to a SGA Senate bylaw that requires only a motion to table a bill and five standing seconds from other senators, Sen. Robert Perz said.
Perz said the purpose of “minority protection” is to allow senators to converse with members of their constituencies and learn how the people, whom the senators have been elected to represent, feel about the issue at hand.
Perz said OSU and Stillwater need the SADDLES program.
“Too often students drive while under the influence of alcohol,” Perz said. “If there is a program here in Stillwater that provides free and safe rides home, then students will have no excuse for driving while intoxicated.”
SGA Treasurer Trevor Sharon said he and Grady Carter added SADDLES into the bylaws last April, laying the foundation for the organization.
“At least nine other Big 12 schools host a similar program and it is time for OSU to host a program as well,” Sharon said. “Every weekend during the night one out of ten drivers on the road are driving above the legal limit. That is just a national statistic; I imagine that a college town, especially with the phenomenal culture that our campus hosts, has an even higher level of drunk drivers on the road.”
Perz said if SADDLES stays in the bylaws, student volunteers who have a strong desire to help their fellow students will run the organization. The program would also make Stillwater a safer community, Perz said.
He said another benefit is that it does not “cost a dime” to students.
“There will be no tuition fee to fund SADDLES,” Perz said. “The program takes on the endeavor of becoming a self-sufficient organization through fund raising and the contributions of those with and without affiliation with OSU.”
Daitch said she does not oppose the program, but she and Clark believe it is not related to SGA and should not be in the constitution.
“Until we tried to remove it, the group had not met in nearly a year,” Daitch said. “Their chairman is in China and no attempt was made to replace him. SADDLES does not exist except in name.”
She also said it would be a “huge liability nightmare” for OSU if something bad happened to a student on one of the rides. Daitch said the university should promote moderation instead of enabling students to get drunk.
Daitch said there are some more reasons she believes SADDLES should not be part of SGA.
Some of the reasons lie in the SGA Constitution, she said
According to the Constitution, “SADDLES shall be a separate and autonomous agency of the SGA.”
Daitch said that means it should have been created as a student group outside of the SGA umbrella. They can apply for registered status with the Committee on Student Organizations, Daitch said.
Perz said even though the program’s start has been rocky, he is willing to try to make it work.
“It is true the program has not gone anywhere since it was first approved,” Perz said. “There are several reasons for this, including bad leadership of the program; we plan to change that.”
The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in Case Study 2 of the Student Union. As always, students are encouraged to attend the meeting and raise concerns. For more information on the SGA Senate, visit http://www.osusga.com.
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