Greene Street was the key topic Wednesday night at the weekly meeting of USC’s Student Senate. The question of whether or not the gates should remain closed, which is being discussed on multiple authoritative levels in Columbia, was brought to the senators.
Student Body President Lindsay Richardson presented the topic to Student Senate. The two options currently being debated are either keeping the gates on Greene Street closed to all cars, with the exception of service vehicles, or allowing them to be open from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. on weekdays.
“Senators Goble, LaWall, Zimmerman, Holt and Chin have agreed to all coauthor a resolution. That’s going to be saying we, as the 106th Student Senate on behalf of all students, support the permanent closure of Greene Street Gates,” Student Body Vice President Donnie Iorio said.
Richardson presented positives of this plan of closure, including pedestrian safety, a space available for nighttime events such as concerts and a more secure inner campus. She also pointed out that opening the gates would mean losing a location for nighttime activities and reducing pedestrian safety.
The resolution will be read at next Wednesday’s meeting and voted on in the meeting after that. Given the complexity of the situation, the resolution will represent how the student body stands on the issue, but is not the deciding factor overall.
“There are a lot of hands in this decision. When you’re talking about any sort of thoroughfare or street decision, yes the university does have a huge play in deciding things but also you have to keep in mind that because we’re in the city we’re also under city council jurisdictions,” Richardson said on the topic of who makes the decision. “There is feedback from the neighborhoods, too, which feed into city council as well.”
Iorio pointed out that the gates were first closed due to construction and students quickly adapted; one way in particular is that he has noticed many students don’t look both ways when crossing the street anymore. He hopes that a decision to keep the gates closed will allow for Greene Street to become an entirely student-focused space.
Another topic from the meeting that could potentially affect students is a bill proposed by Sen. Tatiana Chin to begin an energy reduction plan. Chin claimed that cutting the university’s energy use and costs would lead to a cut in tuition costs.
The proposed plan is necessary to fulfill a state mandate, which requires a 20 percent reduction in energy usage for anything serving the public, including public institutions such as USC. Chin sought to ignite a competitive spirit by including the fact that Clemson University has already started their program to achieve this goal.
Two bills passed, one giving permission to allocate funds for a few student organizations and another amending the senate vacancy application process.
The meeting adjourned with heavy discussion about the gates issue, which does not have to just be between senators. Richardson urges students to contact Student Government with their opinions on this issue and other issues by using Carolina Concerns or the email address of a senator, all of which can be found on the Student Government website.