The Graduate Student Senate passed legislation Sunday evening to appropriate $8,000 to pay for the Pick-A-Prof service for the 2008-2009 academic year.

The bill funding the popular professor-rating service was signed during the summer months by former UOSA President Kenah Nyanat, rather than being considered last spring during primary budget allocations. The bill asked the Graduate Student Senate to honor the contract and appropriate the necessary funds to support the Pick-A-Prof service.

Katie Fox, UOSA Chief of Staff, said that despite much opposition to Pick-A-Prof, legislators should focus on honoring the contract over their personal qualms with the service.

“The idea right now that we’re discussing is not whether or not you support Pick-A-Prof, but whether or not we are going to honor our contract we had already signed with the past administration,” Fox said.

However, Susan Adams-Johnson, Chair of the Graduate Student Senate, said that she does not support Pick-A-Prof because it has the potential to hinder graduate students’ ability to teach.

“If they are part of the Pick-A-Prof system and they are going through a learning period on how to teach, they could have adverse comments made while they’re still in a learning environment,” Adams-Johnson said. She also said that while tenured professors should be fair game to the system, graduate students shouldn’t be judged on the same standard.

Many members of the OU Undergraduate Student Congress attended the meeting, concerned that the high opposition to Pick-A-Prof in the Graduate Senate would lead to the failure of the bill. But, in the end they were pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

“I’m glad that the graduate students ended up passing this with an overwhelming vote,” said Matthew Gress, political science and history junior and undergraduate representative.

He said that despite the success of the bill, the Undergraduate Student Congress faces more conflict in the future.

“[The Graduate Student Senate is] going to be appointing an ad hoc committee in Academic Affairs to examine Pick-A-Prof,” Gress said. “I know last session, the Graduate Senate was adamantly opposed to it.”

Kurt Davidson, political science senior and chair of the Undergraduate Student Congress also said he was satisfied with the vote in favor of the service, but stressed the importance of fulfilling signed contracts.

“We need to fulfill our obligations with outside companies,” Davidson said. “If we wouldn’t have passed the bill, it would have made the university as a whole look bad, not just the UOSA. It is my hope that we are able to come to a mutual agreement so that this service that undergraduates want and use stays on for years to come.”

Even though the legislation passed with an overwhelming majority, the bill will likely reappear in the legislature next semester, Gress said.