Specs of the week: No more meal plan gift cards, CES moves

CES move to provide more study space
Conference & Events Services announced Thursday that it will be moving out of its current location in the Student Center Pavillion. Its offices will be moved into a new university-owned office space on the north end of the Rihanna building across from 12th Avenue.

According to ASSU representatives, the move is meant to provide more late night study space for student use. The amount of study space this year is limited due to the unavailability of 24 hour study space normally provided by the library.

Kathryn Moore, director of Conference & Event services, said in a school-wide e-mail sent Thursday that the move is to be "as economical as possible."

The move is scheduled to be complete Feb. 2, but CES is continuing to operate through and up until the move is done.

Until it has completed the move, CES will be unable to take any more confirmed bookings from students or faculty. Any programs scheduled during the week of the move will proceed as normal.

A full staff will not be supported at this time, but CES has offered to provide additional staff if needed. It will resume normal operation Feb. 3. The new entrance will be on East Columbia Street across from Starbucks.

Meal plans no longer buy Bon App gift cards
Bon Appetit has withdrawn its support of gift cards. Students will no longer be able to purchase Bon App gift cards with their meal plan money.

Already-purchased gift cards will still be honored by the food company, but meal plan money left over at the end of the quarter can no longer be used to purchase the cards.

This compounds on the policy created at the beginning of the school year, restricting meal plan "rollover" to just $100 per quarter. This limits students' ability to retain money spent on meal plans.

Students unable to spend all of their money at quarter's end must either spend all the remnants of their meal plan immediately or risk giving up the money to the university.
Last year, meal plans had no rollover limit. With two new restrictions on meal plans this year alone, student protest has been clear.

In response to the outcry, an e-mail sent by Buzz Hofford, general manager of Bon Appetit, remarked "after further analysis, we've determined that this policy is not sustainable at this time."

State senate stalls vote on assault weapons
It is unlikely that the state senate will vote on prohibiting the sale of assault weapons like semiautomatic pistols and pump-action rifles during its current session. Seattle Police officer Timothy Brenton was killed with a semiautomatic pistol last October.

Tuesday, state Sen. Pam Roach questioned why assault weapons are more deadly than others on the market, arguing that it only takes one bullet for a shot to be lethal, countering an argument that assault weapons are dangerous because of their capacity to hold a greater number of rounds.

The bill's sponsor, Adam Kline Senate Judiciary Committee chairman replied by saying, "It takes one round to kill somebody, 10 rounds can kill 10 people. That's the difference."
Testifying against the bill was Brian Judy, the state liaison for the National Rifle Association. Judy argued that more gun owners obey the law than break it, making the illegalization of assault weapons unnecessary. 
Jeff Reading, spokesman for Senate Democrats, said it is unlikely that the measure will be voted on because it does not have the votes to pass out of committee.

Path for Capitol Hill streetcar yet to be determined

The Community Council submitted a proposal for alternative streetcar routes to the Chamber of Commerce Tuesday, outlining three major priorities.


The first priority is extending the streetcar's route to Aloha Street. This has been a priority since the beginning of the discussion on the project but the funds for it have not yet been secured. Graphics displayed at a Jan. 21 discussion meeting showed multiple stops on Aloha in front of most storefronts along the north end of Broadway as well as a streetcar platform in front of QFC.


The second priority would be to keep the streetcar on Broadway north of Union Street. The committee believes this will attract new riders and provide traffic for businesses in the area. The third priority is titled "reclaim the street." The council wants to eliminate center turn lanes except in major intersections on Broadway street and repurpose bike lanes for pedestrian use.


The city of Seattle will announce its final decisions on the plan in April. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2011. Streetcar construction will not impede light rail construction on Broadway.