The Government of the Student Body will consider a resolution recommending the student body endorse the current academic calendar, Calendar A, and strongly rejecting changes to the current calendar, as proposed in the Calendar B plan by ISU President Gregory Geoffroy’s Academic Calendar Committee.

At its meeting Wednesday night, senators introduced a resolution stating Calendar A is more beneficial to students because of the changes in class time and length of semesters Calendar B would implement.

According to the committee’s Web site, www.iastate.edu/news/

cal/, Calendar B proposes the current 15 weeks for a semester be changed to 14 weeks, allowing an extra week for winter and summer breaks. The plan also proposes classes be lengthened from their current times of 50 and 75 minutes to 55 and 85 minutes, to compensate for the loss of the instructional week extended breaks would cause.

“I asked the senate to voice its opinion on the subject by supporting Calendar A because a lot of the students I’ve talked to see too many negative aspects to the Calendar B proposal,” said GSB Liberal Arts and Science Senator David Breutzmann. “Students have said they don’t want to have to study more for the lost week. They also don’t want to add one or two hours a week onto their schedules, and they believe three weeks is long enough for break.”

GSB Director for Student Affairs Nathan Johnson, who sits on the Academic Calendar Committee, said with Calendar B, students taking 16 credits would increase time in academic pursuits from 40 hours per week to 44 hours per week.

Calendar B also proposes a ten-day January term, or J-term during the extended winter break.

“J-term would do little to make up for the loss of the week,” Breutzmann said. “J-term would also probably have fewer selections for classes than the selection students have during the summer.”

Johnson said it is still uncertain what classes would be offered during J-term.

He said the committee gather input from campus groups and individuals until Nov. 14. The committee will then submit its findings to Geoffroy, who has the definitive say in which calendar the university will implement. Geoffroy has stated his intention to seriously consider any and all recommendations from the Academic Calendar Committee.

Johnson said it is uncertain when Geoffroy will make his decision, but it is expected in mid-December.

A schedule for the resolution’s vote has been drafted by Johnson and GSB Speaker of the Senate Tony Luken, but has yet to be proposed.

The drafted schedule would call for a vote on the resolution to be postponed for at least one week, so senators can gather more input and reactions from students.

The resolution’s vote is scheduled for next week, a week after its introduction in accordance with GSB bylaws. However, senators can make a motion to postpone a vote in an effort to gain clarification and any additional information on the resolution.

“I will ask the senate to postpone the vote [on the resolution], so the senate can better gauge students’ reaction to the issue, and to see which proposal students favor the most,” Breutzmann said.

Also at the meeting, GSB denied funding requested by the Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists. A bill was submitted requesting $400 from the senate’s Discretionary Account to help with the cost of sending two of its members to the 29th Annual International Symposium of the Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists from Oct. 29 to Nov. 2.

GSB denied funding to the group based on GSB bylaws and funding criteria that state groups have to be established for at least a year in order to receive funding to attend conferences. The group has been established for only one week.

“A week isn’t long enough to gauge its stability or impact it will have on campus,” said Off-Campus Senator Cara Harris. “I can sympathize with them, but at the same time, we need to stick behind the standards we use.”