by Justin Boulmay
Staff Writer

The Student Government Association saw a slew of legislation during its last official meeting April 20.

Two pieces of legislation were passed, while three others were tabled to the Rules Committee. Three other bills were discussed and tabled, rendering them void since the Senate will not meet again during this semester to vote.

One bill passed calls for posting a sign in front of Belk Library to inform students that, under the U.S. Patriot Act, the FBI can monitor the materials they use in the library.

Section 215 of the act has been the focus of senate legislation, and heavy debate took place last time SGA addressed the topic.

Appalachian Heights Senator Amanda G. Zeddy wrote the bill.

“I was really pleased that it passed,” Zeddy said. “A lot of people had told me beforehand that they really liked the idea and really liked the bill, and that’s a good statement.”

Last week marked the second time SGA has addressed the Patriot Act, the legislation passed by U.S. Congress after the 9-11 terrorist attacks to expand the government’s capabilities to monitor and arrest anyone suspected of terrorist activity.

Section 215 of the act allows the FBI to monitor students’ checkouts without having to inform them of the surveillance, according to the resolution.

The first SGA bill called for supporting Boone Town Council’s stance against the Patriot Act. At the time, the main point of debate was whether the bill would impact students at Appalachian State at all.

“This time, that didn’t come up at all,” Zeddy said. “I think people saw the relevance to it. I mean, having your library records under surveillance, that’s pretty direct.”

Director of State and National Affairs Paul A. Funderburk said he and Zeddy had talked with administrators and the sign will be posted in front of the library.

The notice will read: “Under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, records of materials you have borrowed from this library may be obtained by U.S. Federal Agents without your knowledge or consent. Please send all correspondence to: Attorney General John Ashcroft, Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20530.”

Library employee Benjamin D. Spencer, a junior geography and planning major from Gastonia, said he thought the sign was a good idea. He also said a government agency could not rightfully judge a person’s intentions based solely on their library records.

“I don’t agree with the Patriot Act in general,” he said. “People should feel safe if they want to expand their knowledge on things. They shouldn’t have to feel like ‘big brother’ is watching.”

The second bill passed was co-authored by off-campus Senator Howard S. Schreiber and East Hall Senator Karl G. Lutterloh and calls for moving the Boone 3 voting precinct closer to or on Appalachian State’s campus. The senate passed the bill.

Other bills brought to the senate floor, but not brought to vote, addressed topics such as maintaining the current number of office hours faculty members must have per week, reducing parking fees and adding a third form of punishment to the SGA constitution that would allow the senate to detail why an officer should be reprimanded.