The Associated Students Legislative Council discussed issues ranging from parking permits to class sizes during last night’s first meeting of the quarter.

Council members approved campus-wide changes to parking permit regulations for Winter and Spring quarters. The board also decided to circulate a survey to address student’s experiences crashing classes.

Although Transportation and Parking Services didn’t lower permit prices, Representative at Large Chloe Stryker said TPS made a compromise regarding its shipping costs.
“TPS was willing to make an annual parking pass that would allow students to park for the rest of the year,” Stryker said. “The pass would be the same price as the two quarters, but it would save students from having to pay shipping and handling for the second pass.”

Night & Weekend parking permits currently cost $17.50 per quarter, in addition to a $5.95 shipping fee.

Stryker also said TPS has proposed a new lock-in fee for the spring ballot that could affect the price of passes next year.

In response to student frustration concerning over-enrolled classes, the council unanimously agreed to administer a survey to the student body regarding crashing courses. The survey, which originated at UC Santa Cruz, was created to determine the number of students that crash classes per quarter as well as student qualms regarding the process.

Off-Campus Representative Amanda Berry said her organic chemistry class this quarter boasts a seven-page waitlist.

“I’m sitting with students who aren’t usually involved and they are all saying, ‘Let’s get a video camera and send it to the Regents for them to see what’s going on,’” Berry said.

Additionally, Stryker said the dire problem has forced numerous students to change schools.

“Three girls in my sorority already left this year and transferred to other schools because the classes they need are full,” Stryker said. “Just seeing students who have to leave because they can’t get the classes they need is frustrating.”

The council also passed a bill to restructure A.S. Take Back the Night, a campus organization dedicated to informing the public about issues confronting women, including sexual assault.

The bill’s author, On-Campus Representative Joe Lee said the committee wants to create new officer positions to reward the hard work of student volunteers.
“In terms of positions, they had some awesome students last quarter who were volunteering a lot of their time and it was decided they should be made officers and receive honoraria,” Lee said.

Each of the new officers will receive $100 a quarter.

Additionally, the council swore in Rachel Lydon as an off-campus representative, replacing Brianne Chan for the remainder of the academic year.