SA votes on Sammy, elections over Internet, pass/fail deadline

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by Vivek Rao

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In Monday's meeting of the Student Association, senators approved resolutions concerning subjects that ranged from Sammy the Owl to the pass/fail deadline.

By voice vote, the SA approved a resolution to change the SA Constitution bylaws so that the position of Sammy the Owl falls under the authority of the Athletic Department, and more specifically, Athletic Ticket Manager Steve Moniaci.

This change, which takes effect after the spring elections, does not alter the selection process. Sammy the Owl will continue to be an elected position.

According to Tony Tran, SA vice president for external affairs, the change is necessary because Sammy the Owl currently is not accountable to an administrative sponsor.

"Should anything happen, there should be someone who is officially responsible for Sammy's actions," Tran said.

The issue of placing Sammy the Owl under the Athletic Department arose following the Nov. 9 Rice-Texas A&M University football game. Sid Richardson College junior Stephe Gallagher, who was one of three students serving as Sammy the Owl, was escorted out of Rice Stadium by Campus Police officers for entering a restricted area on the Texas A&M side.

"Because of this [change], a whole bunch of positives happen," Tran said. He believes that Sammy the Owl will now be eligible to travel with Rice's varsity teams to road games and that any student who serves as Sammy the Owl will be more easily accessible should the Athletic Department need him or her for a game.

James Tolle, an SRC junior who also serves as Sammy the Owl, supports the establishment of rules for Sammy the Owl, but is not in total agreement with the resolution. He prefers to see the mascot under the auspices of a spirit committee.

"I would prefer to see Sammy [the Owl] under the control of a spirit committee or the SA rather than a faculty member," Tolle said.

Another resolution considered by the SA was a recommendation that the pass/fail deadline for courses be moved to the end of the 10th week of classes.

Currently, students cannot designate a class pass/fail after the fourth week of the semester.

SA Treasurer Michael Munson, who proposed the resolution, believes that the change would give students more flexibility.

"I've always been interested in this from my personal experiences, and I found an agreement while talking to other people," Munson said.

"It's a great idea because no one loses. Students will have more time to decide which of their courses they should take pass/fail, and professors should benefit from diligent work at least through the 10th week instead of through the fourth week if students choose to skimp on their pass/fail classes."

Some students, however, expressed concern during the meeting that moving the deadline would lead to grade inflation, and they were opposed to the change for this reason.

Senators agreed to discuss the resolution with other students and vote again on the resolution on Monday.

If the resolution is approved, it will be sent to the Committee on the Undergraduate Curriculum for consideration.

Also on Monday's agenda was the issue of holding student elections through the Internet. The SA decided to delay implementation of online voting, which would have been conducted through the SA homepage on the World Wide Web, because of security concerns.

SRC junior Paul O'Brien, who designed the online voting system for last semester's homecoming elections and is currently working on a system for campus-wide student elections, felt that waiting until next year was appropriate.

O'Brien, who had spoken to the SA before senators voted on the issue, warned that online voting "may be a little premature."

O'Brien expressed concern that the system used for the homecoming elections, which required students to enter their student identification number and birthday, does not have adequate safeguards to prevent ballot box stuffing.

"There are a lot of places around with Rice ID [numbers] and birthdays," O'Brien said. "The SA can certainly take extra measures to make this more secure. If this means putting it off a year, I don't think it's that big a problem, but we can do something like issue student PINs which would be used only for elections."

In other business, senators signed a letter of appreciation thanking members of the Campus Police for their role in apprehending the suspect in the sexual assault cases.

The SA also voted in favor of a resolution encouraging Sammy's to offer free refills on soft drinks.

This item appeared in the News section of the February 2, 1996 issue.

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