Voting in line with the student body, the Undergraduate Student Government passed a resolution last night in favor of the $20 per semester shuttle fee at a short, emergency meeting.

The cost will be added as a general fee and used for ‘parking improvements and shuttle bus expansion,’ according to the resolution written up by Student Welfare Committee Chair Chris Schiazza.

The form, which was approved with a 20-13 vote, mentioned adding a possible downtown shuttle route for students.

A straw vote was held on the University’s main Web site Nov. 16 and Nov. 17, in which 912 undergraduate students voted. Four hundred and ninety-six students, or 60.3 percent, voted in favor of the fee, while 326, or 39.7 percent, voted against it. Of the votes, 35 were found to be invalid and of the 55 graduate student voters, 28 voted in favor and 27 voted against the fee.

President Sundeep Mutgi assured the members of USG the vote will guarantee parking improvements and a new committee of students will form in order to make plans for the changes.

Before the meeting moved into a vote, USG debated and discussed the issue at hand.

College of Education ‘amp; Human Development Senator Joe Edens raised the concern that there hasn’t been an exact plan presented to the members, and he found it ‘disturbing’ to sign off on the resolution without one.

Schiazza said beyond making improvements and adding a downtown shuttle route, Police Chief James Wiegand did not articulate a specific game plan.

Off-Campus Senator Nathan Whitman questioned whether USG was ready to vote on the issue. Mutgi and Vice President Kevin Basch assured they were ready, and it would be beneficial to get the passed resolution to the Board of Trustees sooner since they are holding a meeting during the first week of December and not holding another until March.

‘We are the explorers and mapmakers,’ Mutgi said.

Arts ‘amp; Sciences Senator Danielle McConnell also said she did not think the resolution was ready to be voted on.

‘They are not planning to implement this until next fall, which is plenty of time [for the Board of Trustees],’ McConnell said. ‘We’ve been increasing fees so much this semester, and students are not able to handle it.’

‘Everything indicates this is what students want,’ said Academic Affairs Committee Chair Molly Albertson, saying this is the third time in her three years with USG they polled the student body to see if they wanted improvements in the shuttle service.

Albertson said putting off the vote would not be representing the student body well.

‘I just want to make sure we’re not doing this for the administration,’ Whitman said.

He said he did not feel comfortable handing anyone money without having a clear plan.

‘We owe it to the students,’ Schiazza said. ‘I feel we need to make a decision about this.’

After the final vote, Mutgi congratulated USG on their progress. He also pointed out that, although it’s a controversial issue, the vote within USG was 60 percent in favor, which matches the results of the student body.

‘We well represent the student body,’ Mutgi said. ‘