The Government of the Student Body will vote tonight to determine whether a $12.5 million Department of Public Safety parking project is in the best interest of ISU students.

GSB President Andy Tofilon has tentatively supported the DPS parking plan, but said he is concerned the project may be too costly for students.

“I think it is a good idea, but I will completely trust what the senate decides,” Tofilon said. “We still need to get all the student input we can on this issue.”

Students and faculty members should attend tonight’s GSB meeting to provide more input, he said.

“Students need to tell us whether this is a good idea or a bad idea,” Tofilon said.

Tony Luken, LAS, said he fully supports the DPS proposal, which will provide more than 12,000 new parking spots on campus for students and faculty.

“It’s a great deal for the students,” Luken said. “We can either take this deal and pay a reasonable price increase in parking permits, or we can take no deal and many students will continue to have to park their cars in no-man’s-land.”

If the DPS plan is approved, the cost of regular parking permits would increase $15 each year for the next three years, and stadium permits would increase $5 each year for the next three years.

Alex Rodeck, off-campus, said the DPS parking proposal is unnecessary and will provide more benefits to faculty than to students.

Although students and faculty will pay similar increases for parking permits if the plan is approved, the cost of student permits will increase by nearly 70 percent, while faculty parking permits will increase by only 20 percent, he said.

“The faculty are getting way more benefits out of this proposal than students are, and we’re the ones who will pay,” Rodeck said.

Rodeck said he supports the proposal to construct additional parking for students near the stadium but does not approve of plans to build two covered parking ramps that will provide parking primarily for staff members.

“I don’t think we need to be bringing that much traffic close to campus,” Rodeck said.

GSB members are seeking input from students at tonight’s meeting.

“I think there will be a very spirited debate over this vote,” Tofilon said.

“On an issue like this, you can never expect a unanimous vote.”

The GSB Senate will meet at 7 tonight in the Campanile Room of the Memorial Union. The following issues will be discussed:

Special Orders

A senate bill to amend the Government of the Student Body Bylaws to reflect the name change of Hawthorn Court Community to Frederiksen Court Community. By Kothenbeutel and Marvin.

A senate bill to ratify a new Election Code for the Government of the Student Body elections. By Walling and Kothenbeutel.

A senate order to amend the Government of the Student Body Constitution to reflect the name change of Hawthorn Court Community to Frederiksen Court Community. By Kothenbeutel and Marvin.

A senate resolution to endorse a Department of Public Safety Parking Proposal that would create a significant change in the parking situation at Iowa State. By Luken, Darr and others.

A senate order to change the role of the GSB Appointment Committee. By Luken, Kothenbeutel and others.

A senate order to require the president and vice president of the student body to be full-time students. By Marvin.

New Business

A senate bill to allocate $6,800 of Government of the Student Body funds from the Special Projects Account to go toward remodeling the floor of the Memorial Union. By Darr, Weaver and others.

A senate bill to amend the Government of the Student Body Bylaws to reflect the name change of People Understanding Disabilities to Alliance for Disability Awareness. By Kothenbeutel and Greiman.

A senate bill to restrict the amount of time the senate may debate after guest presenters have finished a formal presentation. By Leege, Weaver and others.