Student Congress passed a resolution encouraging OU President David Boren to restrict smoking on the OU-Norman campus.

Citing health concerns, unsightly litter and campus opinion, Student Congress passed the resolution with 22 in favor, 13 against and 2 abstains.

The resolution also asked that the current laws prohibiting smoking within 25 feet of entranceways be enforced.

UOSA will work to provide programs to make quitting smoking easier for the university community, the resolution stated.

The resolution also stated UOSA would support a partial ban beginning in 2011 and would consider a full ban in 2012.

A partial ban would include banning smoking on sidewalks and most areas of campus, Representative Joseph Ahrabizad said.

“Hopefully, [the board of regents will] consider banning smoking on the University of Oklahoma campus,” said Ahrabizad, political science senior.

Ahrabizad said after a ban goes into effect, people will have to leave campus to smoke.

Representative Joe Sangirardi voted against the resolution.

“A lot of my constituents, freshman, smoke, and so I don’t think I can be for this since I’m representing them,” said Sangirardi, University College freshman.

He said there is already a policy restricting smoking in front of entranceways that should be enforced, and no more rules are needed.

“This is incredibly restrictive and I think it’s wrong,” Sangirardi said.

Representative Forrest Bennett was in favor of the resolution. He said he asked a smoker to stand farther away from a door and was told to “suck it.”

Ahrabizad said the country is moving in the direction of smoking restrictions.

“Sometimes you have to do what your representatives want, sometimes you have to do what is best for your constituents,” Ahrabizad said in support of the bill.

A bill also was passed 24-9-1 to require that “any entity campaigning for or against a campus-wide referendum must also register their cause and abide by regulations in the same manner outlined for candidates.”

This bill would also limit spending by any individual entity to $1,000 per election cycle.

Before passing, the bill was amended to remove restrictions on elected members of UOSA from offering opinions on referendums.

The current rules allow anyone to campaign for any referendum, said UOSA Secretary Brett Stidham, human relations management junior.

UOSA also passed an act requiring that votes be cast in uncontested elections.

The “Always Take a Vote Act,” will make the requirements for recall petitions more reasonable, Ahrabizad said. The number of signatures required for a recall petition is based on the number of votes cast in the last election, so requiring votes in uncontested elections will affect that amount.

Also approved was $1,570 in funding to eight student organizations for programs, events and activities. International Advisory Committee ($300), Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Student Society ($275), Society of Portuguese Speakers ($250), Sooners for Israel ($200), United Students ($150), American Constitution Society ($100), Spanish Club ($200) and the student chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architecture ($95) received these funds.

Nine UOSA liasons also were appointed at the meeting.