Student organizations might face more stringent requirements in the near future.

At the weekly Government of the Student Body Senate meeting Wednesday night, Gail Ferlazzo, associate director of the Memorial Union, presented the ISU Student Organization Recognition Policy she drafted in conjunction with several other university and student representatives.

“Requirements to form a student organization are currently substantially easier at ISU than at many of our peer universities,” Ferlazzo said.

The new guidelines would address this issue. Recent controversies such as the debate that surrounded GSB funding being approved for the Campus Crusade for Christ student organization despite questions about its alleged discriminatory practices helped inspire the proposed changes to university policy.

The new guidelines would require organizations to include specific anti-discriminatory wording in their constitutions.

Keith Bystrom, associate university legal counsel, said the new guidelines would allow certain exceptions for religious groups.

Bystrom said student organizations with strong religious beliefs would be able to ensure that their members and officers adhered to their beliefs.

Ferlazzo said besides a few changes, the new guidelines would make policies permanent. Changes could also require groups to maintain a minimum of five members annually in order to be designated a student organization.

“We’re not just creating hoops that groups have to jump through,” she said.

Ferlazzo said the guidelines would make groups more accountable to the university and streamline the process of allocating limited resources to the more than 600 student organizations at Iowa State.

If approved, the policy would be implemented by Jan. 8, 2007.

The Senate also heard reports from members of the Executive Cabinet. Each member introduced his or herself and gave a brief update on his or her activities to the Senate.

For a full report, see www.gsb.iastate.edu.