ASUSU approves iPod application
After the traditional opening of an ASUSU Executive Council meeting and a large round of applause for Utah State’s highly celebrated win this past Friday, the round table was almost full of visitors waiting to address the council.
The visitors included representation from the company IntelliGuard Systems and from USU Parking and Transportation Services.
Addressing the council first was IntelliGuard, which was presented by American Messaging. Representatives briefed the council on a new emergency alert system that may be tested and then implemented on USU’s campus. They helped the council understand the devices and how they can make USU safe.
The IntelliGuard System is a comprehensive mass alert system with messages being sent to all devices in all locations. This means a message can be sent from one individual and within seconds, be at the hands of thousands with no chance of delays or absence. It is a “dedicated system” with no other traffic and categorized as “one-to-many.”
IntelliGuard currently has over one million customers and deems itself the “dependable choice” with 26 years of state-of-the-art emergency notification technology, mostly with Emergency First Responders. Now branching off to schools, mainly universities, the representative at the council meeting said IntelliGuard felt the need for their products, largely due to the 83 shooting incidents that have occurred over the last 10 years at universities across the nation. So far the system has been adopted by a few universities as a pilot program.
If ASUSU approves, USU will be the eighth school to take part in the pilot. The program will require 50 participants and an hour of time for two days along with a survey. Students will be given a key chain that will notify them of an emergency as they follow their daily schedule.
USU will receive a fully-funded system including the thermostat-like wall units and LCD signs. The cost of running the system has yet to be determined since the cost is based on how many devices are ordered. The ASUSU council members will deliberate and come to a decision about pilot participation at a later date.
The next presentation came from USU Parking and Transportation Services where assistant director James Nye quizzed the council on their parking knowledge. Because parking services is a self-supported entity, no student-paid tuition goes towards parking. Also contrary to popular belief, only nine percent of parking revenue comes from citations. Parking services also has 38 student employees and still owes about $350,000 in bond payments for the parking terraces located on campus. However, parking was said to make “over and above” with a total revenue of 1.3 million dollars.
After his initial presentation, Nye suggested ASUSU encourage utilization of parking services in regards to guests and visitors. Parking services include direction for guests, notification of arrival to hosts, and most importantly, direct parking so that no citations are issued.
Concluding presentations was Kevin Webb, program adviser. Webb provided the council with legislation training so that members could better understand the process. Webb reminded the council of their main duties as active members. Training also included bill and resolution instructions.
“You act as the sole student voice,” Webb said. “You speak for the students, so listen.”
Putting their training to work, the council then voted on two discussion items already approved by the Capital and Support fund. The first item was a request for $250 for the carnival hosted by the LIFE club as part of National Coming Out Day events. Because the actual cost of the event is $120, ASUSU avoted to approve $200.
The second item passed was the request for the funding of an ASUSU iPod application. The bill for the request stated that there has been a 35 percent increase in cell phone usage across campus and the application will provide easy access to ASUSU events and website along with calenders, social media, and campus maps. The application is already in the design stages and once funded, will be released within months. The total cost of the application is $21,000.
– jessie.a.sweat@aggiemail.usu.edu