After a presentation by university officials, the Government of the Student Body Senate voted to indefinitely postpone action on In English Please.

The bill intended to recommend a higher standard of spoken English proficiency for graduate teaching assistants.

Off campus senator Paul Heil was lead author of the bill. Before the meeting Heil said it was not intended to single out any students.

“We want to more effectively communicate with our TAs,” he said. “When it is harder to communicate there is a longer learning curve.”

Felicity Douglas, who coordinated the graduate college’s Speak-Teach program, said she had not heard from students who were having problems with understanding their TAs. Her program works with international graduate students, testing their spoken language proficiency.

Heil cited an increase in written requirement as a reason for proposing the bill. Douglas and James Bloedel, dean of the graduate college, explained that what was increased was the minimum score required on the Test Of English as a Foreign Language for admission to the college. In the last year the minimum score has been raised by 20 points, to 197, which is comparable to other universities.

Douglas’s exam is only oral and the mark a student receives determines what he or she is able to do in the class room. Last year, 232 international graduate students were tested. Of those, 41 percent received a score that allowed them to teach in a classroom alone, 20 percent were found qualified to teach a recitation or lab section. Another 28 percent were able to work in help rooms and as tutors while 11 percent were not considered able to teach.

Bloedel said between 40 and 45 percent of teaching assistants are international students and international students comprise 33 percent of the graduate student population. He told the senate that a recommendation of higher spoken English proficiency could deter some highly qualified students from attending Iowa State.

Douglas said a stronger impact could be felt by departments. Teaching assistantships are offered to students on the basis of their admission and TOEFL score. If a student fails the oral exam and is unable to teach, the department is still required to provided them the contracted money. She said that happens rarely now.

Before the meeting, graduate senator Bradley Miller, who was seated Wednesday, said he was unsure about the bill.

“There is a fine line between high standards and intolerance,” he said.

Graduate Student Senate University Relations chairwoman, Allison Heckley, said some departments could probably do more to ensure students receive “the quality of education we should expect to get at Iowa State” by providing more oversight on spoken English proficiency.

The information provided by Douglas and Bloedel raised numerous questions for senators, and Off Campus Senator Josh Deupree called for the postponement of the bill.

“If you can’t understand the wording of the bill, what does it mean?” he asked.

An overwhelming majority of senators agreed, with a vote of 26 to 5.

Douglas said she was pleased with the result. “It’s not been resolved but it’s not going to be,” Douglas said after the senate’s decision. “I have the same goals as the students here.”

GSB President T.J. Schneider presented the State of the Student Body Address at the senate’s last meeting of the semester. He focused on the changes that have occurred over the semester, including the football team’s record-breaking season and the transfer of the Memorial Union to university ownership.

A motion to overturn a presidential veto of a funding allocation to refurbish six study rooms in Parks Library was quashed after minimal debate; the veto stands.

The senate voted to contribute $5,713 to the university for the improvement of sidewalk water drainage to the south of Parks Library. The senate will also pay for the wiring of the Black Cultural Center to allow for Internet access. GSB voted several weeks ago to purchase computers for the center.

The meeting was still in progress at press time, with discussion on the bylaws and election code.