After the Cambridge bus stop was relocated to the spot between Southern Courtyard and Kennedy Hall, the George-Anne staff reached out to the Student Government Association to allow them to provide comment on the situation. 

Yesterday, Your Newsroom’s Khloe Peacock sat down with Alexis Smith, SGA’s Vice President of Business and Finance, to receive her comments. Our initial report was published on Aug. 24, and our most recent report was published on Aug. 27. To follow up on some data in those reports, the student-curated petition is now up to over 1,400 signatures, and there is also a student-planned rally taking place today at the Rotunda from 1-3 p.m.

The Active Petition and the Upcoming Rally

Following the concerns, some students are planning a rally/protest that will take place this afternoon at the Russell Union Rotunda. The graphic started to circulate on YikYak, and from there, it has caught the attention of many students. Smith responded to the plan by saying, “I think petitions and protests are a great way to voice your opinion, voice your concerns, to get other people’s attention. I very much advocate for that, and I definitely see where the students are coming from, for wanting to do that. Personally, I don’t know about anyone else in SGA or in the cabinet, but personally, I plan on being there for a little bit just to hear what students have to say, maybe answer any questions they may have.”

The Reasoning for the Relocation

Smith’s comments on the reasoning behind the relocation align with our staff’s previous interviews, stating that it was moved due to heavy traffic on Lanier Drive. She said, 

“It was strictly for student safety and traffic issues…It’s very hard for the bus to get in and out of that street without causing any traffic.”

The Initial Conversation Regarding the Bus Stop

Smith walked our staff through the initial conversations. She said, “He [Robert Babot] approached SGA with the idea of moving the bus stop, and we all came to the conclusion that it was a good idea to try and map out a new bus route.” Following that conversation, some SGA members went for a ride-along to run the entire route. “We had maybe a conversation or two after the ride-along, and we did come to the conclusion that this could potentially work out. We brought it up to our senate, and our senate did approve it,” Smith explained.

Approval of the Senate

In our initial report, we obtained the SGA meeting minutes from the April 14 meeting, where they stated that the bus route (with Cambridge on it) was approved. To clear up some confusion, Smith explained that the Senate approval just means that they agree to it, not that it’s put into action. Smith clarified that SGA does not make the decisions; they only provide input.

Communication between Parking & Transportation and SGA

“After our senate meeting, from the beginning of school this semester, there was no contract between Parking & Transportation and SGA at all,” Smith said. This comes after the ride-along and the input that SGA provided to Parking & Transportation. Now, with the frustration from students, Parking & Transportation is directing students to SGA for answers, but Smith claims that they do not have the answers to give students. “Parking & Transportation is directing students to us. From the perspective of the Cambridge students to us, it’s making it sound like we are at fault, when again, all SGA did was put in our input; we did not make that decision at all.” Along with that, Smith explained that Parking & Transportation is forwarding emails to the SGA office. “They are directly telling students to come to us. The first week, I was forwarded over 15 emails that students sent to Parking & Transportation, and they forwarded those emails to the student government email and to my email,” she said.

When it came to finding out about the relocation of the bus stop, Smith claims that SGA did not know about it. “When the stop changed again from Cambridge to Kennedy, we had no idea that was happening. At the same time that Cambridge and Axis residents found out that the bus stop was going to be changed to Kennedy, we found out at the same time,” she said.

Clarification on the Survey/Feedback Form

After reading our previous reports and seeing a “survery” mentioned that was allegedly sent to students, Smith wanted to clarify what the “survey” was. She explained that, “Surveys can only be sent out by university administration, so we don’t have that jurisdiction.”

Instead, SGA posted a “feedback form” on their Instagram page, asking students to provide feedback on the original proposed bus routes. These routes included the Cambridge at Southern apartment complex. Smith claims that the form only had around 25-30 responses.