Government of the Student Body senators voted overwhelmingly Wednesday night in favor of naming the new Student Health Center after retiring Vice President for Student Affairs Tom Thielen.

The resolution passed 22-4.

“He played a very big role in getting the new Student Health Center and it would seem fit to name it after him,” said Senator John Hamilton, business. Hamilton authored the bill. Thielen will retire from his position Dec. 31. He will remain on faculty until the end of the academic year.

Adam Gold, GSB president, said Thielen is an outstanding individual.

But Gold added that when a building is not named it is easier for the university to raise money for it.

In other news

Senators passed a bill to allocate funding to AIDS Awareness Week. Questions were raised over whether to fund speakers for the event.

Originally, the bill called for $400 to fund the event. After two amendments the total allocated to the event had ballooned to $1,600.

Hamilton, who said GSB should fund speakers for the event, said, “All we did was fund a party that has a politically correct name on it. I’m sorry, but if people in college don’t know about the risks of having sex, then what good is having a party for it going to do?”

Sen. Dawn Haynes, said GSB is not throwing money away by honoring Iowans and people around the world who have died from AIDS. Several agreed.