The Student Government Association (SGA) Senate confirmed Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Jaquaious (Jay) Little and passed an act for commercial rideshare safety in their Nov. 1 meeting.

The Senate passed the Commercial Rideshare Safety and Convenience Act without opposition, allowing for the designation and labeling of specific Lyft rideshare pickup and drop-off zones.

The act was authored by Sen. Katie Arrington, a sophomore majoring in business marketing, Sen. Hunter Scott, a sophomore majoring in psychology and biology and Sen. Brooks Payne, a sophomore majoring in communication studies.

Those senators worked with Director of Transportation Services Christopher D’Esposito and Lyft to secure the parking spots.

Scott said the act will cut down on traffic problems that he experienced as a freshman last year while living in Riverside North.

“What it will do is it will make it easier for students,” Scott said. “They open up the app and it tells them right where to go.”

Scott also said the act will make the rideshare process with companies like Lyft safer.

“They don’t have to walk to a car,” Scott said. “It’s a safety thing, them staying out of the road.”

Students will still have to walk to the designated parking spots, but they will not have to risk getting in the wrong vehicle in the middle of a busy street, said both Scott and Arrington.

“It’s a set parking spot that will be on the app,” said Arrington. “There will be multiple spots at different dorms.”

Arrington said the only dorm that will not have Lyft parking spots will be Lakeside.

“The only dorm that it’s not going to be at is Lakeside because they only have a set number with the beds to the ratio of parking spots that are in front of that dorm,” Arrington said. “That is just the one place where Mr. Chris was like ‘We are not going to do this.’”

Payne said the act would help increase safety on campus while also adding to the McGiffert administration’s work pertaining to the promotion of Lyft on campus.

“I think with the push for the Lyft initiative with Price McGiffert and the administration, what better way than to piggyback what they’re already doing and to say, ‘Hey, here we are with Lyft. Let’s join forces and make sure we can increase safety as much as we can,’” Payne said.

The SGA also confirmed Jay Little as the new vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion without objection. Little, a senior majoring in computer science who is also obtaining an MBA in operations management, was lauded as the top candidate on the floor of the Senate by McGiffert.

The Senate also was set to discuss the removal of graduate mechanical engineering Sen. Matthew Nutley but did not after Parliamentarian Hani Razavi, a senior majoring in political science, said Nutley’s unexcused absences actually met the requirements for being excused. Razavi also said the request to remove Nutley did not properly move up the chain of command.

Order of Events

1. The Senate confirmed Jay Little to be the vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion
2. Sen. Matthew Nutley was not removed after Parliamentarian Hani Razavi said the motion was made incorrectly and the senator’s absences were excused
3. Act A-37-18, The Commercial Rideshare Safety and Convenience Act was passed without objection