Students who are nervous about walking around on campus in the dark of night may have a light at the end of the tunnel.

The Government of the Student Body Senate will vote tonight on a bill to spend $24,000 to improve campus lighting.

The area around the College of Design will be first to receive more lighting with the installation of seven lights in the main plaza by the end of this semester, said GSB President Andy Tofilon.

The remaining 14 lights will be in place by the end of the fall 2002 semester, he said.

“We have entered into a very amazing relationship with the administration to take care of campus safety issues,” Tofilon said. “GSB has wanted to get this done for the past decade, but it hasn’t been feasible in the past – it has been our dream.”

Administrators said they are always concerned for students’ safety and felt this was a genuine cause for action, said Dean of Students Pete Englin.

“This is part of a progression of safety changes,” he said.

The action is in response to students who have expressed safety concerns, said Speaker of the Senate Andrew Kothenbeutel.

“Every year when we ask students what they want on campus, they express campus lighting,” he said.

The safety-escort service is one area that needs attention, Tofilon said. The service has seen a large increase in usage and has not had the staff to meet the demand, he said.

Englin said, however, that he has not heard any concerns from students about the safety escort program.

“If students believe they are not getting good service, I would be willing to work with [the Department of Public Safety] and GSB on the issue,” he said.

GSB members want to work with DPS on the resources they need to keep campus as safe as possible, Tofilon said.

“We’re not convinced stun guns will be able to do the job,” he said. “We have the most educated police force in the state.”

The Ames Police Department cannot respond as quickly to campus calls, Tofilon said, which reinforces the need for armed DPS officers.

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 bill to seat Ben Albright as a College of Agriculture senator. By Taylor and Rodeck.

General Orders

A funding bill to spend $24,000 on campus lighting. By Stallmann, Kothenbeutel and others.

A bylaw bill to fix the Finance Bylaws (Part 6 of X). By Tinder, Kallaher and others.

New Business

A bylaw bill to remove the $10 filing fee student organizations pay when applying for allocations through GSB. By Kothenbeutel, Weaver and others.

A bylaw bill to fix the Finance Bylaws (Part 8 of X). By Tinder, Kothenbeutel and others.

A funding bill to allocate $385 from the Senate Discretionary Account to the Student Environmental Council members attending ECOnference 2001 in Washington, D.C. By Kothenbeutel and Kallaher.