After more than three hours of debate and multiple amendments, the Government of the Student Body passed the senate bill at Wednesday’s meeting to create a student focused theater.

The passing of the bill by the senate was the first step toward GSB leasing the old Varsity Theater and turning it into Cyclone Cinema.

“I am thoroughly excited this passed. We need to keep going forward … This is the largest project the GSB has ever done,” said Michael Weber, speaker of the senate.

Vice Speaker Jacob Wilson said he was pleased with the debate before the bill was passed.

“The debate was phenomenal; it was great, what happened tonight,” Wilson said.

The debate on the project was filled with questions and comments on whether the theater would be the best use of GSB money, started shortly after 10 p.m. and lasted until 2:10 a.m.

“I think what happened here tonight was amazing,” said Ian Ringgenberg, member of the task force. “They took a bill that nobody was comfortable with, and they made it into a bill that everyone was comfortable with.”

One amendment capped how much money GSB can allocate to Cyclone Cinema. The first two years GSB can allocate up to $60,000, and after that up to $45,000.

Tom Danielson, GSB finance director and head of the Varsity Task Force, said he believed the theater will be unique to Iowa State.

“This is unique because it is entirely student funded … There are some university-owned movie theaters which have been operable elsewhere,” Danielson said.

During the debate, there were some doubts about whether leasing the theater was a good step for GSB.

“We’ve had opportunities in the past to take ownership in the Campustown area, but we voted it down. We should have started with something smaller,” said Christopher Bone, an agriculture senator.

At the beginning of the debate, a vote on the bill was almost postponed for two weeks, but after Senator Wilson changed his vote, discussion on the bill was opened back up.

“When we had our meeting with the administrators, we had a recommendation that we postpone the bill for two weeks, and others asked us to get a nod of approval from the senate to go ahead with lease contracts,” Danielson said.

A resolution urging the university to begin negotiating lease agreements with the building’s owners was quickly passed prior to the larger discussion of the Varsity proposal.

In accordance with several university administrators’ suggestions, GSB will continue to seek out student feedback through a survey to be e-mailed to the entire student body.

“In terms of the perspective of the administration, when we met with members of the task force, it was our advice, not directed, that you should have more information — because when it’s up against the Regents, it’s going to be [GSB President Jon] Turk and Danielson presenting the idea,” said GSB adviser Gail Ferlazzo. “We want you to have enough ammunition to say this is a good decision, and this is why.”

Several senators voiced concern about leaving student opinion up to a survey.

“I don’t know how you can reach students with a survey and get quality results … There is a reason we don’t leave large issues to referendum,” said Senator Sagar Chawla.

There were also worries about explaining the bill in paragraph form and students’ knowledge of GSB financial accounts. Bone said he wanted to know what will happen if the survey yields negative results.

“If we pass this bill tonight and the survey results just totally bomb … What would the board do — just pull the plug on us?” Bone said. GSB is hoping the bill will make it onto the Board of Regents’ March 24 meeting agenda.

Wilson said he was excited “beyond belief” about the bill being passed and hopes the senate’s vote opens communication with the university and administrators.

GSB President Jon Turk has six days to sign the bill. If he decides to veto the bill, the senate would need 22 votes to override the veto. Turk can also not sign the bill, in which case the bill passes, but without his support.

Whether Turk signs or not, it still needs approval by the Board of Regents. Task force members say they have work to do in the next few weeks, but they are excited about nearing the finish.

“I think the merits of this project are strong enough that we can do the convincing that needs to be done,” Ringgenberg said.