USG confirms no motorized floats for homecoming parade

At its Sept. 26 meeting, the Undergraduate Student Government confirmed that no motorized floats will be allowed in the homecoming parade this year.

There will not be any motorized vehicles allowed in the parade because Lot H is gone and there is no place to store floats. Clubs and organizations will be notified later this week on the exact regulations of how many bicyclists, roller skaters and skateboarders are allowed per group.

Cheerleader Sousada Chidthachack rides in the Grand Marshall car with Tommie the Tomcat in the 2002 Homecoming parade. (JOY LOMURRAY/THE AQUIN)
Cheerleader Sousada Chidthachack rides in the Grand Marshal car with Tommie the Tomcat in the 2002 Homecoming parade. (Lisa Joy LoMurray/The Aquin)

USG also announced that it will not hand out T-shirts for the Tommie-Johnnie game. Since the game is away, it would be “better utilizing our funds giving them to class councils, clubs and organizations” said Corey Dahl, USG vice president of public relations.

Also at the meeting, USG approved its initiatives for the 2010-2011 school year. USG will focus on three issues the council claims are important issues to St. Thomas students, including a Tommie shuttle, transfer student equality and a smoke-free initiative.

The Tommie shuttle would drive through neighborhoods on weekends and pick up students around the neighborhoods. Ideally, USG would like the service to provide a safe ride home and keep peace in the neighborhoods by preventing large groups from walking around. The shuttle would be modeled after transportation services other universities and colleges provide.

The transfer student equality initiative would help show transfer students the resources available to them on campus. The smoke-free initiative would work toward making the campus smoke-free.

USG is still researching these projects. The initiatives will be presented to the administration Friday.

Theresa Malloy can be reached at mall5754@stthomas.edu.