The Bona Venture

Issue date: 2/12/10 Section: News

Image courtesy of Stacia Salvatore


Sabrina Maddeaux, Student Government Association (SGA) president, informed senators a second Late-Night Bona Bus has been added to take students to and from the town of Allegany Friday and Saturday nights from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m.

"We noticed all the instances of vandalism this year have occurred because the Late-Night Bona Bus was full or because of long wait times," Maddeaux said. "Even though there is never an excuse for vandalism, SGA feels it is the right thing to do by adding a second Late-Night Bona Bus."

SGA explored the idea of adding a smaller Late-Night Bona Bus or a guard to the larger bus, Maddeaux said.

"Placing a guard on the bus for the remainder of the semester would have cost slightly over $3,000, and adding a second small bus to run on Friday and Saturday nights will cost around $5,000," Maddeaux said.

Although both solutions would prevent further vandalism, Maddeaux said, "SGA chose to opt for the slightly higher cost of running a second bus because more students would benefit and enjoy that option."

With the additional bus, students would not have to wait as long for the bus as they had to in the past, Maddeaux said. The bus company, First Transit, expressed hesitation about continuing the contract if further incidents of vandalism and violence occur, Maddeaux said.

"SGA wanted to avoid that situation at all costs where we are in immediate danger of losing that contract, " Maddeaux said.

On behalf of the entire executive board, Maddeaux commended the Office of Safety and Security and the Allegany Police Department for their investigation into the alleged rape that occurred on campus Jan 30.

The Office of Safety and Security and the Allegany Police worked together and placed a suspect in custody hours after the incident occurred, Maddeaux said. She encouraged students to continue following basic safety tips and proper guest check in procedures.

Several positive factors came from the incident, Maddeaux said. The e2Campus Notification System worked smoothly and sent text alerts to all students signed up for the service before many woke up that morning, she said.

Rick Trietley, vice provost for student life, said parents can be notified via the e2Campus Notification System, too, but students must sign their parents up for it.

Parents often call the Office of Safety and Security and residence life with questions about incidents like the Jan. 30 alleged rape, Trietley said.

If students sign parents up for this service, the amount of questions and speculation about the incident will be alleviated, Trietley said. Students can access and update their e2Campus account online through the my.sbu.edu homepage, Maddeaux said.

Maddeaux also announced she would like to form a Constitutional Review Committee that would make minor changes to help SGA run more efficiently. She said she is interested in changing the club chartering process, funding procedure and qualifications for office and election regulations. Maddeaux said she would also like to review how SGA serves its clubs and organizations it represents.

"SGA expects to find there are some things SGA does very well for their clubs and others we need to improve upon," Maddeaux said. "We want to form closer relationships with our many chartered organizations and make sure we're providing them with the resources and information they need to be successful."

This process will not look to make any funding cuts to any organizations or relationships SGA has with the campus community, Maddeaux said.

SGA meetings will be moved from Monday evenings to Tuesday evenings, effective immediately. This change occurred because Dave Sine, SGA vice president, has a conflict with the current meeting schedule.

Michelle McKernan, sophomore class president and president pro-tempore, has filled in for Sine in his absence.

e-mail: chulictr09@sbu.edu

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