A vote on a Government of the Student Body proposal recommending reduced funding to the athletic department has been postponed.

If passed, the bill would have a significant effect on student athletes, coaches and athletic department programs and staff.

GSB officials said they will delay discussion and a vote on the resolution, originally scheduled for Wednesday night’s meeting, because Athletic Director Bruce Van De Velde will be unable to attend the meeting.

At its September 17 meeting, the Government of the Student Body introduced a senate resolution considering a proposal to change the amount of student fees allocated to the athletic department from $21 per student per semester to $10 per student per semester.

The proposal was drafted in response to student displeasure with the athletic department’s handling of the tailgating situation and the return on the investment of student fees into the department. The university as a whole, including both the Dean of Students Office and the ISU athletic department, made the decision earlier this summer to move public parking lots away from cement lots adjacent to Jack Trice Stadium.

Speaker of the Senate and primary author of the bill Tony Luken said discussion will be postponed until GSB’s Oct. 1 meeting to allow Van De Velde to attend and address the issue.

Van De Velde cannot attend Wednesday’s meeting because he will be in Washington D.C. testifying before the U.S. Congress on the college football Bowl Championship Series.

Luken, senior in political science, said more facts need to be gathered and reviewed on the issue. “We need to figure out what happened — what went wrong,” Luken said. “We need to talk to athletic department and university officials to come up with ways to prevent that breakdown in communication.

“We also need some questions answered by the athletic department and university as to why students weren’t consulted during the formal stages of the decision,”

Van De Velde has indicated he will talk with GSB about the matter when he returns.

Vice President for Student Affairs Thomas Hill will be on hand at to represent the university and to answer senators’ questions at the meeting.

“There’s a lot of information out there that hasn’t been reviewed and I’m glad to see [GSB] realized they need to thoughtfully look at the situation,” Hill said. “It’s been very emotional, the things they have been dealing with.

“I would like to see them identify the problems they have and see in the decision, as well as voice possible solutions we can come to.”

The ISU Athletic Department has the smallest budget in the Big 12 Conference, and any cut would have significant impacts on the athletic program at Iowa State, said Tom Kroeschell, communications manager of the athletic department.

It is because of these consequences and implications that GSB has decided to delay its vote and slow down the process of passing or rejecting the resolution.

“[The resolution] is a way of sending a message students are here and we deserve respect,” Luken said. “It seems the only language the athletic department understands is money. If money is what it takes, then we’ll let money do the talking, if that’s what it takes to get their attention and get them to respect students.”

If the resolution is passed, a recommendation would be made to the Student Fees Committee, who would decide whether to endorse such a policy change. According to Iowa Code, the Iowa Board of Regents has the final say in the decision.

Ben Albright, GSB vice president, said he would express his support for the resolution in the Student Fees Committee if a majority of students back it.

“If they have a majority of people behind it, we would support it because it’s our job to voice student opinion to the Board of Regents,” Albright said. “I think it’s pretty drastic, and it won’t help relations by any means among GSB, students and the university.

“I think we need to have a town hall meeting first among GSB, students, the athletic department and the university.”

Lane Danielsen, a wide receiver on the ISU football team, said he doesn’t necessarily support the resolution, but supports GSB efforts to represent students in the issue and their efforts to voice student opinions.

Danielsen, senior in exercise and sport science, said he is unhappy with the university not adequately including students during the decision-making process. “GSB has to do their job in representing students and if that’s the way students feel, then they need to express that the best way they see fit,” Danielsen said.

“I’m a student myself and I side with them. They make up 90 percent of the crowd noise.

“I appreciate students and all they do to support athletics at Iowa State. We need to make sure they are happy, but at the same time I think they need to look at other options than cutting fees, because athletics are important to the university.”

GSB will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Campanile Room of the Memorial Union.