After the SGA’s first contentious debate of the year, the body decided Wednesday night to give legislators another week to talk with officials and constituents before voting on a campus-wide helmet requirement for scooter drivers.
While many legislators voiced support for a helmet safety education campaign at Wednesday’s meeting, several questioned whether an enforcement policy infringes on drivers’ personal choice or would actually make a difference on the campus. Other legislators argued that instead of a mandate, the university should proactively educate students about the dangers of driving without a helmet.
Although the University Senate will vote on the actual policy next Thursday, legislators will voice either their support or opposition the night before. After several accidents occurred last year, various voting bodies and university departments discussed the possibility of enacting a helmet requirement for scooter drivers.
Neighboring commuter legislator Aaron Zaccaria said the body did not know enough about how the requirement might be enforced to pledge support just yet, noting that legislators need more time to talk to stakeholders before making their decision.
“We don’t really know how it’s going to work or what it’s going to culminate into. We don’t know what DOTS is thinking,” Zaccaria said. “I think we need to stand back and get some opinions from our constituencies and talk to officials from DOTS and people around campus before we even consider this bill.”
In response, Speaker Pro Tempore Andrea Marcin noted the resolution calls for a lenient enforcement system with several warnings before a possible fine for multiple violations. She added Department of Transportation Services officials have already expressed an openness to work with the SGA on developing a system that would be as fair to students as possible.
And with the senate vote a little more than a week away, Marcin said Wednesday night was the time to take a stand.
“If we restrain ourselves, students will be left out of the discussion,” Marcin said. “This is cautiously approving or offering our support for a helmet policy, but it’s qualified. It isn’t set in stone yet, but we must act now to affect the discussion.”
And computer, mathematical and natural sciences legislator Elizabeth Antman voiced concern that Zaccaria felt the body needed more time to decide their stance when the resolution had been proposed more than two weeks ago.
“You had two weeks to read the bill,” Antman said. “As a body, we are supposed to examine this legislation. That is what students elected us to do.”
Zaccaria then motioned to have the bill sent back to the body’s student affairs committee for further discussion and possible revision, saying he would use the extra week to reach out to constituents. While several legislators voted against the motion, it was ultimately passed. The resolution will return to the floor next week.
Some legislators voiced concern during the debate that supporters of the resolution were pressuring the body to vote in favor of the helmet requirement because it seemed so likely to pass the senate.
“We weren’t elected to just go along with the flow. We should challenge authority when we see that it is fit to do so,” CMNS legislator David Lieb said. “Scooters are dangerous machines, but a helmet policy many students are against is not going to get students to wear helmets. Education would be much more effective than straight out mandating.”
Other legislators said they were torn. While there was a general consensus about the importance of scooter safety, some questioned how strictly the requirement would be enforced by DOTS and whether officials had the right to force students to wear helmets.
“It’s your choice — how you dress yourself, whether you wear a helmet, how you conduct your affairs. It’s your business,” business legislator Elizabeth Moran said. “Students should be educated, not forced.”
The body also unanimously passed resolutions supporting a more transparent process for setting student fees, condemning the recent price hikes for Motor Pool transportation and calling on the journalism dean search committee to seek out candidates who value student interests.
villanueva@umdbk.com
