ISU students soon may have greater opportunities to exercise their First Amendment rights, and the Government of the Student Body is standing behind the prospect.

ISU President Gregory Geoffroy drafted changes to the Student Information Handbook to extend the free speech zone to the edges of campus.

Currently, the only area where students can exercise their freedom of speech is a small section of campus near the Hub, said Tony Luken, LAS.

“The places where students want to express their views should be more open, and they’re not,” he said. “[The resolution] would allow students to exercise their constitutional rights all over campus.”

Luken said Geoffroy has shown an interest in changing the free speech areas and is getting input from students, faculty and staff.

“He’s making rules that are very friendly to student concerns,” Luken said.

Many students have wanted to expand the free speech zones for years, he said, but their concerns have been ignored in the past.

“[Former ISU President Martin] Jischke just ignored us,” Luken said. “He didn’t care.”

With Geoffroy’s arrival at Iowa State this year, Luken said members of GSB wanted to make the free speech issue known.

Speaker of the Senate Andrew Kothenbeutel, TRA, said a change in the Free Speech Code would allow students to speak out more.

“It would open up more opportunities for the exchange of ideas on campus,” he said.

There shouldn’t be any problem getting the resolution through, Kothenbeutel said, and the new Free Speech Code could be in effect as early as the 2002-2003 academic year.

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

Special Orders

A seating order to seat Jeremy Schweitzer as an alternate at-large member of the Finance Committee. By Kothenbeutel, Stallmann and others.

General Orders

A bill to allocate funds to the ISU Baseball Club from the Special Projects and Senate Discretionary accounts. By Kothenbeutel, Stallmann, and others.

A bylaw bill that would place the power of who is seated as a senator to be controlled by the Senate. By Luken, Kothenbeutel and others.

A bill funding the Analysis of the Social Services Evaluation Team that benefit students attending Iowa State University. By Kothenbeutel, Luken and others.

A funding bill that would restructure the Finance Committee. By Kothenbeutel, Stallmann and others.

A resolution that would change the Free Speech Code and increase the free speech areas on campus. By Luken and Kothenbeutel.

New Business

A bylaw bill that the parliamentary authority of the Senate be replaced with the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised. By Marvin and Darr.

A funding bill to transfer $2,346.70 from instructional fees to boat rental in the ISU Waterski Club’s 2001-2002 GSB budget. By Stallmann, Kothenbeutel and others.