Representatives from the Pittsburgh Student Government Council, comprised of student leaders… Representatives from the Pittsburgh Student Government Council, comprised of student leaders from local schools, expressed their peers’ concerns with Port Authority funding and safety in the South Side during its first meeting with City Council yesterday.

The City Council invited members of PSGC to their chambers yesterday afternoon to hold round-table meetings so they could share their expertise in certain areas.

The PSGC is made up of representatives from 10 Pittsburgh student governments. Present at the meeting were students from Pitt, Duquesne, Carlow, Point Park and CCAC.

Each student had a chance to speak about his school’s concerns. Funding for Port Authority and safety in the South Side were common threads among speakers.

Nila Devanath, Pitt’s Graduate and Professional Student Assembly president, spoke specifically about GPSA’s petition that asks the state legislature to fund transportation in Allegheny County.

The petition went up on the GPSA website about a week ago. Anyone who logs into the website can send an e-mail directly to their state representative about funding for the Port Authority, Devanath said. The names will also be added to the petition to increase funding.

The petition cites the Port Authority website, which says bus fare rates will increase in January 2011, and the number of available routes will be reduced by 35 percent in March 2011.

“We want to write a formal letter to the legislature at the state level, and we want Council to support the letter and sign onto it,” Devanath said.

The City Council agreed to look at the letter.

“If City Council wants to see people stay in the city, you need to show that you really care about our transportation,” said Michael Potoczny, president of the United Student Government at Point Park University.

These cuts will have a very large effect on college commuters, Potoczny said.

“The student body is about three-fourths commuters at Point Park. Some students have already withdrawn from school in anticipation of cuts,” he said.

The City Council welcomed the representatives’ involvement in city issues.

Councilman Doug Shields said, “You’ve come to an age where you’ve become enfranchised. You can vote. You no longer get a free pass if you get caught drinking in a parking lot. Welcome to adulthood, welcome to enfranchisement. As citizens what do you want? What do you want from the city of Pittsburgh?”

Charlie Shull, president of Pitt’s Student Government Board, wants students to join Pittsburgh’s housing market.

Shull proposed a first-time home-owners program, which would create incentives for young people to join the housing market.

He also discussed the need to create jobs for students currently studying in Pittsburgh.  He told the Council members they must create jobs if they want current students to stay in the city after graduation.

“They are facing hard competition from more experienced workers who have been laid off,” Shull said.

Whereas Pitt representatives were concerned about funding and buying markets, other schools brought up the issue of safety, particularly in the South Side.

Hally Ramirez, senator of the Student Government Association at Duquesne, addressed police enforcement in the South Side.

“On Carson Street after 2 a.m. when the bars close, there are a lot of highly intoxicated people and not enough police enforcement,” Ramirez said.

Duquesne will hold a “Black Out Day” on Feb. 17 to bring awareness to underage drinking and problems that go along with it, such as drunk driving.

The state of the South Side, especially during the weekend, is something Pitt students should be concerned about, Shull said.

“We use the South Side as a recruitment tool, not for the drinking or the bars, but as somewhere where you can go shop, go to the movies and enjoy restaurants,” he said.

The City Council was adamant about staying in close contact with the Pittsburgh Student Government Council.

“I want to remind you that you are a large segment of this population. There are tens of thousands of you. You have a very large voice — organize that voice, bring that voice together,” Councilman Patrick Dowd said. “Practice advocacy. Interaction with organization members and elected officials is the best form of advocacy.”

The Pittsburgh Student Government Council did not say when it would meet with City Council again.