To optimize its ability to serve Iowa State students, the Government of the Student Body joins forces with other campus entities in formalized agreements.

The Student Union Board is one of the organizations with which GSB officials sign contracts.

“We feel it is in the best interest of the government and the students of Iowa State University to enter into contracts to provide service to the students,” said Alex Olson, off campus. “There is no other way to engage into a long-term relationship.”

GSB President Matt Craft said these agreements are necessary for GSB to provide services it couldn’t on its own. “We don’t have the resources or the power to do these things by ourselves,” he said.

However, when GSB adopted a new constitution in the spring of 1998, many contracts became outdated, and to avoid contradictions with current rules all contracts were voided, Craft said.

Currently, there is no formalized procedure in the constitution, bylaws or other government laws concerning the negotiation and adoption of these agreements, Olson said.

GSB will consider a bill at its meeting tonight that would add a chapter to the bylaws setting a policy for the negotiation and ratification of such contracts.

In addition, three bills to ratify contracts with SUB and the Dean of Students Office will be considered. GSB and the Dean of Students Office jointly fund Student Legal Services and Off Campus and Adult Students Services, two of the contracts that will be voted on.

If the proposed formalized process passes, the GSB president must negotiate and sign the contracts and agreements and present them to the senate. After considering the contracts and agreements, the senate can ratify them with a majority vote.

“The process resembles how the United States federal government works with treaties,” Olson said. “The executive branch negotiates the specifics, and the legislative branch can ratify the agreed contract.”

Because so much work would go into forming the agreement before it reaches the senate, objections would be rare, Olson said.

“Senators usually disagree with certain parts of the contract,” he said. “There are instances where a senator disagrees with the spirit of the contract, but the contracts are usually well thought out and discussed.”

Once the contracts are signed and ratified, “they’re on the books,” Olson said, and they don’t have to be reconsidered every year. The contract for student office space with SUB is an exception because the agreement is signed annually.

The contracts and agreements are long-term from a student perspective, and usually last about five years, Olson said.

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

Old Business

• A funding bill to allocate $350 to the Iowa State Film Club to fund several events. By Weaver.

• A funding bill that would allocate $150 to send an ISU student representative to the annual convention of the National Council of Teachers Nov. 18-23. By DeKoster and Schneider.

• A bill to establish the procedure for contract negotiation and implementation between GSB and other entities. By Wisher and Olson.

• A bill to ratify the 1999-2000 contract between GSB and the Student Union Board for student office space. By Olson and Wisher.

• A bill to ratify the Funding Operations Agreement between GSB and the Dean of Students Office for the office of Off Campus and Adult Student Services. By Olson and Wisher.

• A bill to ratify the Operations Agreement for Student Legal Services between GSB and the Dean of Students Office for joint funding of the office of Student Legal Services. By Olson and Wisher.

• A bill to introduce electronic voting for GSB elections. By Cordaro, Olson and others.

• A funding bill to allocate $5,600 to the ISU Computation Center to develop, design, program and implement electronic voting for GSB elections. By Cordaro, Olson and others.

• A funding bill that would appropriate $4,500 for the purchase of a four-passenger golf cart for use by the Safety Escort Service. By Pogge and Cordaro.