At the Oct. 3 Students’ Association meeting, senators were addressed by University Police Officer Scott Roberts, received an update on Starship robots on campus and approved three resolutions. 

Officer Roberts:

UPD officer Roberts gave an overview presentation about South Dakota State University crime statistics from last year. 

He began his address by listing major felony statistics. Last year on campus there were no murder cases, robbery, aggravated assault or hate crimes reported. However, there were three burglaries, three cases of domestic violence, nine cases total of both in-person and cyber stalking and 186 liquor license violations, 116 of those occurring in residence halls. 

In regards to the sexual assault cases, there were two reported rapes on campus last year. Officer Roberts encourages people to speak up, even though it can feel uncomfortable to talk about. 

“I want to emphasize on reporting sexual assault,” Roberts said. “I know that this probably happened more, but we want people to feel comfortable and come to talk to us.”

Regardless of these statistics, SDSU is ranked in the top 25 safest universities in the nation. According to the College Media Network, SDSU is currently ranked 22. 

Roberts also took the time to discuss the dangers of owning a fictitious (fake) ID. 

Roberts said there are different statutes for whether you possess a driver’s license to operate a vehicle on the road or if you have a non-driver ID. Possessing a fake ID is a class one misdemeanor which in South Dakota would be one year in jail for the maximum penalty.

This situation becomes a lot more serious when in possession of a “Real ID.” A “Real ID” is a driver’s license that has a star symbol in the upper right-hand corner.

“Possessing a ‘Real ID’ is a big no-no for the federal government because it’s tampering with their security to get in and out of our borders,” Roberts said. “If you have the card with the star, more than likely if the Feds pick it up, you’re looking at 15 years in prison.”

Roberts reported that since the beginning of the fall semester, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has intercepted 150 fake IDs coming to Brookings.

“We have had an increased amount of identity theft because when you go to buy a fake ID, whatever website you do use … people are giving their information out to people they don’t know,” Roberts said.

Starship Robots:

During her adviser report, Michaela Willis, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management, updated the Senate on the Starship robots starting up on campus again.

“Dining services was first focused on getting the transact mobile ordering up and expanded to more locations, then they were working on getting the starship robots up,” Willis said. 

The robots will no longer be delivering Starbucks because of the traffic and how long it took them to cross the street. However, the SDSU Foundation, Enrollment Services and Meadows Apartments will all still be able to get delivery. 

“If you’re starting to see them (robots) roaming a little bit, that’s a good sign that we might be getting the Starship up and running,” Willis said. 

Resolutions:

The Senate approved three resolutions Monday. 

Resolution 22-3-R expresses the Students’ Association disappointment with corporate Sodexo during the food provider transition and the fall semester so far. 

“We are very grateful to the people here on campus. They have been putting in many, many hours … making sure places are open, and it’s just been a struggle with staffing issues, supply chain, a lot of things, so I think this is really important to really express that disappointment with corporate,” Trinity Peterson, College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences senator, said. 

Resolution 22-3-R passed unanimously.

Resolution 22-4-R is a cautionary resolution to students to warn them about the danger of possessing a fake ID. 

“I have seen a lot of students arrested for fake IDs, which is something that is quite disappointing. We don’t want to see students getting in trouble for something that could have easily been avoided. A lot of them don’t know what they’re getting into,” Communications Chair Garrett Satterly said. 

Resolution 22-4-R passed unanimously.

Resolution 22-5-R is Students’ Association recognition in October as LGBTQ+ History Month. 

“The resolution is pretty straightforward. Just commemorates important things throughout history and mentions that diversity inclusion is part of the national research plan. And it just reaffirms our commitment to our mission,” Michael Garofalo, College of Arts, Humanities and Social sciences senator, said. 

Resolution 22-5-R passed with a vote of 25-2. 

To read all resolutions in full, follow @collegian_live on twitter.

Other:

The senate approved the general budgeting philosophy for the fiscal year of 2023. 

There is currently a discussion going on about the possibility of getting another scoreboard in Dana J Dykhouse Stadium, on the North side of the stadium across from the student section. Senators will construe to communicate with SDSU athletics about this suggestion.