Student Senate to hear revised hours for MLK, Panther Shuttle

Analicia Haynes, Administration Editor

The student senate will hear the revised cuts to the Panther Shuttle Bus hours and the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union building hours at their 7 p.m. meeting Wednesday in the Tuscola-Arcola Room of the Union.

Maralea Negron, the student speaker of the senate, said Lynette Drake, the interim vice president of student affairs, and Cathy Engelkes, the deputy director of the Union, came to the executive board meeting on Monday night and presented the revisions.

“They’re cutting the hours for the Panther Shuttle and the different facilities within the Union, including bowling and the Bookstore,” Negron said.

Negron said the cuts are necessary and believes the students will definitely be affected but said there will not be any major uproar.

Negron said Drake and Engelkes explained at the executive board meeting that the university is trying to make the necessary cuts in order to stretch out the staff that are left after the layoffs. The savings, as a result from the cutting of hours, are worth while.

Negron said the cuts are more than just saving on utilities; it is maximizing the resources and saving on the remaining personnel.

“I think that the administration is doing what they can with the budget that they have,” Negron said. “We’re in a time of need and if that’s what needs to be done, then so be it.”

According to the revision sheets given to executive board members, the building hours for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will change

The union will close at 11 p.m. on Friday instead of 1 a.m. and at 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday instead of 1 a.m. (Saturday) and 11 p.m. (Sunday).

From Monday to Thursday, the EIU Bookstore will close at 5 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. and will be closed on Saturday.

The Panther Print and Copy Center will now be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday and the ticket office will be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The bowling lanes will be open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 4 to 11 p.m. on Friday and 3 to 11 p.m. on Saturday.

Negron said Drake and Engelkes will present the revisions at Wednesday’s meeting.

Senators will also discuss the revisions to the spring constitution and the student government budget.

Negron said unlike in the past, the senators have the opportunity to look at the budget before it is sent to the apportionment board for review.

“We decided to let the senators look at it first to help them understand what we’re asking for and why we’re asking for it,” Negron said.

 

Analicia Haynes can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]