Following a dialogue with university officials at their last meeting, a Government of the Student Body senator said his organization will not cut student funding to the athletic department.

Following a public apology from Athletic Director Bruce Van De Velde at GSB’s Wednesday night meeting, Speaker of the Senate Tony Luken said there is no reason to cut funds to the athletic department now.

Luken said Van De Velde’s acknowledgment of the department’s mistake in the parking decision and his assurance to include students in future policy decisions has led him to realize a cut in funding would be “absurd.”

“The senate and I got what we wanted, which was an acknowledgment that students were left out of the formulating process of the decision [by] the party responsible for not including them,” he said. “They took it on the chin and gave us concrete assurance it wouldn’t happen again, and I admire that.”

The athletic department, Office of Student Affairs and the Dean of Students Office made a decision in June to change parking in Jack Trice Stadium lots by moving the general public away from the stadium as a way to accommodate increased membership in the National Cyclone Club.

University officials also said the decision was made to move inappropriate drinking behavior away from families and alumni not wanting to be exposed to such behavior.

GSB responded to student unhappiness with not being consulted on the decision by drafting a resolution recommending the amount of student fees allocated to the athletic department be reduced.

The student body proposed fees be cut from $21 per student per semester to $10. The reduction would have left the department with a $662,750 shortfall.

“[A cut to the department] isn’t necessary because [students] will get a lot out of the athletic department now because they realize the fact cutting fees is a possibility, and they realize they messed up and are willing to include us now,” Luken said.

He said GSB needs to be reasonable, since the university and athletic department are doing their best to accommodate and include students.

“I’m glad to see the student body has been persistent and [has] persevered with this issue, and I’m excited to see we’ve made progress toward a solution that I think will please students and not have to hurt the department,” Van De Velde said.

If the resolution to reduce fees took place, the athletic department would have to cut expenses and athletic programs across the board, he said.

He said the department would have to implement ways to generate revenue to make up for the shortfall, which probably would have resulted in higher student ticket prices.

Student fees help to support women’s and Olympic sports, as well as give students priority seating in lower sections of Hilton Coliseum, which could have been affected by cuts, Van De Velde said.

“I’m glad to see we’re starting to move on and get it over with,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Thomas Hill.

However, Hill said the university, the athletic department and GSB could have reached this point sooner if they would have stated they wanted an apology from the athletic department at the beginning of the issue’s debate.

“If they would have said they wanted a public meeting with the athletic director and public apology from him, they could have gotten that in June when it first became an issue,” Hill said. “It would have been easy to set that up then. We wouldn’t have had to wait until October to get to this point.”

Luken and Hill both said the next step in resolving the issue is to work out details for creating a student-only lot.

“We’ve said it many times, the university cannot endorse underage and dangerous drinking in such a lot,” Hill said. “So, as long as it’s alcohol-free, it will happen.”

GSB Engineering Senator Jenni Erwin said she would support a student-only lot even if it were alcohol-free, and said she believes a majority of senators would as well.

“I support even an alcohol-free lot because I believe students will want to tailgate even if there isn’t alcohol,” Erwin said. “Any way we can get students closer is the right way to go in resolving this issue.”

Students of age wanting to drink can still do so in the general public parking lots, as long as it is in moderation, Hill said.

“Yes, sure we’re losing a general public lot next to the stadium, but we’re gaining a 100 percent student lot next to the stadium which students haven’t had before,” Erwin said.

GSB President Mike Banasiak said there is no final step in resolving the issue yet, but the main issue of the lack of communication with the university has been prevented.

“We’ve come a long way,” Banasiak said. “From here we keep up communication with the athletic department, work closely with the students on the [National Cyclone Club] Advisory Board and look into a student-only lot.”