Story by Melanie Buck
Plans to renovate the D-Shoppe space in Olmsted Center at Drake University created controversy among Student Senate last Thursday night.
The Student Senate meeting lasted nearly three hours because of the debate about the renovation of the D-Shoppe.
The original motion was to turn the D-Shoppe into a centralized location for student services.
The space would feature satellite offices, allowing students to access financial papers, student IDs, parking passes and IT assistance.
Senate said it would mostly benefit first-years and sophomores who don’t know where to find those student services.
Senate also discussed plans to use the D-Shoppe space to create a multi-purpose, collaborative student space.
They plan to fund the with the Quasi-Endowment Fund, the unspent student activities fees from past years.
There was a lot of debate on what would go into the space, the purpose for putting student services in that space and who would benefit from it.
Senate is still looking into the issue, and it will also be discussed at the next meeting. Senate is unsure if it will only discuss it or vote on the issue next week. That will be decided by Student Body President David Karaz.
Students are encouraged to share their input on the issue on Thursday.
In other business, Senate unanimously approved Drake Men for Gender Equality as a student organization.
Drake Men for Gender Equality is open to all students. The organization will hold bi-weekly meetings to educate men about supporting and respecting women on campus and in their lives.
Student Senate allocated funds to three campus organizations.
Senate allocated $721 to Drake Tennis Club to cover transportation, lodging and registration costs for the Battle of the Sections Tournament.
Senate allocated $947.58 to St. Jude Up ‘til Dawn to cover supplies and security costs for the fall fundraiser.
Senate allocated $1,131 to Drake Mock Trial to cover equipment and registration fees to field an additional team.
Drake President David Maxwell will be at the next Student Senate meeting to speak about university issues.
Senate will also continue looking into the potential renovation of the D-Shoppe at the next meeting. Senators encouraged students to come to share their input on the issue next week.
