2008 Woodie Awards
SGA probes SafeRides
Scott Greene
Issue date: 3/2/06 Section: News
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The Student Government Association (SGA) met Sunday in the Robert A. Jones '59 conference room to discuss an amendment to the previously passed "Middlebury SafeRides" transportation bill addressing Middlebury College's liability for providing student-run transportation from off-campus parties. The SGA voiced concerns that the original bill did not provide the College with sufficient liability protection, since a drunken student could easily board a vehicle and sign a document without real knowledge of what he or she is signing.
The amendment addresses this flaw, stating that the student must sign the contract "at a time when the individual participant possesses all necessary faculties for the contract to be honored and upheld in the court of law." In one of many implementation strategies posed by the SGA, students would have to sign a contract well beforehand, at a table staffed outside Ross or Proctor dining halls.
Students would only have to sign the contract once, reducing the amount of red-tape for those who frequent off campus parties. A main component of the amendment requires that students need to have signed a contract by the first two weeks of the semester or at the commencement of the program. Ultimately, the SGA hopes that the entire student body will have signed the contract.
Though funding uncertainties threaten the longevity of the SafeRides program, Senator Andrew Carnabuci '06, the program's development leader, stressed the need to neglect the long term in this instance.
"Our priority is not designing a program with longevity," Carnabuci said, "but instead getting this program off the ground and making sure more people don't get hurt." Under the amendment, paid drivers will possess a list of names and signed contracts as they shuttle students to and from off-campus parties. However, as Dean of Student Affairs Ann Hanson pointed out, this may present the driver with a difficult choice."This puts the driver in a difficult position if you have four people waiting to get on and three have signed a form but one hasn't," said Hanson.
The amendment addresses this flaw, stating that the student must sign the contract "at a time when the individual participant possesses all necessary faculties for the contract to be honored and upheld in the court of law." In one of many implementation strategies posed by the SGA, students would have to sign a contract well beforehand, at a table staffed outside Ross or Proctor dining halls.
Students would only have to sign the contract once, reducing the amount of red-tape for those who frequent off campus parties. A main component of the amendment requires that students need to have signed a contract by the first two weeks of the semester or at the commencement of the program. Ultimately, the SGA hopes that the entire student body will have signed the contract.
Though funding uncertainties threaten the longevity of the SafeRides program, Senator Andrew Carnabuci '06, the program's development leader, stressed the need to neglect the long term in this instance.
"Our priority is not designing a program with longevity," Carnabuci said, "but instead getting this program off the ground and making sure more people don't get hurt." Under the amendment, paid drivers will possess a list of names and signed contracts as they shuttle students to and from off-campus parties. However, as Dean of Student Affairs Ann Hanson pointed out, this may present the driver with a difficult choice."This puts the driver in a difficult position if you have four people waiting to get on and three have signed a form but one hasn't," said Hanson.