Editor’s note: The headline of this story has been changed to clarify the fact that a potential policy could ban electric scooters, and other motor vehicles, from being brought into buildings.

Electric scooters will most likely not be coming to South Dakota State’s University’s campus according to Student’s Association Vice President, Hayden Bentz.
Government Affairs Chair Michael Garofalo initially answered a question regarding the progress of getting electric scooters on campus during a Q&A with Brookings City Council members by saying, “We worked on it, but we haven’t heard any interest from any vendors, so we’ll keep it at the top of our minds.”
Bentz immediately followed up this comment and definitively said “As of right now, we are no longer exploring scooter options on campus or the city limits,” with Garofalo then saying “I know that in my conversations with the city we always talk about transportation, something that’s important to us, so it’s something to come down the road.”
This all came before Student Affairs Vice President, Micheala Willis, talked about a new university policy being vetted that would ban any personal vehicle with a lithium-ion battery from being inside any building. This ban includes electric scooters as well as electric skateboards.
The reason behind this ban is fire safety. Lithium-ion battery fires are extremely hard to extinguish, and because personal motor vehicles are primarily used outside, they can take more damage which increases the risk of a fire. Willis said that is the reason that personal motor vehicles are being singled out and no other personal electronic devices that also contain these kinds of relatively common batteries.
The meeting began with an address from members of the city council. Mayor Ope Niemeyer, council members Brianna Doran and Wayne Avery, City Manager Paul Briseno and Public Information Officer Sherry Fuller Bordewyk. They had a few messages that they wanted to make clear before opening the floor up to questions.
Their primary focus is to encourage community engagement. “The core reason why we are here today is because we want to reiterate to the students and the student body that your voice is important,” Doran said. “There are a lot of current ways you can engage with the city council.”
She talked about the different ways people can interact with them like coming to their meetings, commenting and downloading an app called “Engage Brookings,” following them on social media, emailing them directly and even talking to them on the street or in a store if you see them.
The council also has a program called “Coffee with Council” where you can sit down, have a cup of coffee and speak with council members. They are looking to host at least one here on campus.
The mayor talked about the housing project that they are working on. “We are engaged right now to build more workforce housing,” Niemeyer said. “We got some houses that are a little more affordable for those who are coming into entry level positions that choose to stay here in Brookings.”
After the meeting with the city council, members from the Women in Concrete and Construction club came up to pitch their club constitution and give more information about what they do and who they are for.
“I wanted to create this club for women at SDSU, whether you’re in construction, the concrete industry, STEM or engineering. It’s really not limited, but it’s a place where women can come together who work in male dominated fields and be encouraged, motivated and learn about different aspects of the industry,” club president Emma Roth said.
“This is something that is really near and dear to my heart because I wish I grew up in the industry, but I wish I had something like that.”
The club’s constitution was ratified with all present members voting yes.
The SA meeting ended with seven bills being passed. Bills 23-7-A through 23-9-A all focused on revising and clarifying specific language used in the association’s constitution, and bills 23-10-A through 23-13-A focused on organizing and clarifying information about student advisors. All seven bills passed.