Students of Concord,
I hope your semester is going well. I apologize that I have not written to you for a while from the President's Desk, but know that I am continuing to work hard for you. Life certainly has gotten busy for me over the past month or so with LSAT's, GRE's, academic conferences, and other classroom obligations, but amongst all this, I have not forgotten my obligation as your President, and I am working hard for you on various issues.
Perhaps the issue I have worked hardest on over the past month or so has been the idea of the Religious Studies Commission. If anyone wants detailed information on that, then don't hesitate to see me personally. With the construction of the University Point, I feel that this University should put its obligations toward getting a credible Religious Studies program so that students can get some tangible benefit out of this multimillion dollar complex. Several "tenured" faculty have raised objections to this idea. Here are their basic arguments:
1). With our limited resources, we should fix the programs we have now instead of worrying about future problems. We should, for instance, hire a third Political Scientist, more social workers, more psychologists, more Geography professors, and more.
2). An academic program centered around existing Religion classes as a minor would work, and
3). The SGA has no business getting involved in this matter, which several faculty buried years ago.
My counterarguments to this point are:
1). Considering the limited resources we have available, and considering how much credibility a Religious Studies program could bring to University Point, I am sure the Advancement Office could find enough money from alumni to fund the program. So, the program would not be stepping on anyone's toes. I agree that more faculty is needed in other areas, but this should not stop us from seeking a program and seeking funding that is out there for that program.
2). A program in this way would not work. All anyone has to do to see this is look at our awful Appalachian Studies minor, run by the Geography department. A conglomeration of existing classes does not suffice. If a program is going to be run, it needs to be academically credible run on the U Chicago/Yale model. Of course, I am only a "student", so I know nothing of academic credibility.
3). This argument is nonsense and an ad hominem attack on our student body. I think that people should be outraged by this; these particular faculty are questioning our intelligence. We have every right to hold discussions on this issue, even though it might not be our business to "chair" discussions. Even though we might not be PHD's, we have every right to hold a discussion in a free, democratic society.
In short, I'm afraid that the existing Religious Studies Commission will not work for various reasons. But, keep in mind that I am continuing to make this my top priority, and I am going to seek to start discussions in a different, more appropriate, less controversial way than the one I originally proposed.
Other issues and acknowledgments:
1). I am working on getting a Commuter Lounge. I think that the alumni lounge in the Student Center should be used for this once the alumni move to their multimillion dollar complex. More details on this. The University currently considers the Game Room as the "Commuter Lounge". This is incredibly unfair to our commuter students. No one could "lounge" or study in the Gameroom, which is supposed to be the point of a "lounge".
2). Work on cleaning up your government is underway. After having serious ethical problems from our SGA President and others last year, I pledged to clean up this government, and so far so good. The Ethics committee, which I am chairing, is putting out amendments solving potential ethical hazards for various officers. Bylaw corrections are also underway. People might think that bylaw amendments are a waste of time, but they are not; most of the time, they only serve to make our government stronger.
3). Curtis Kearns and his Tuition and Fees Committee, which I serve on, is doing a fantastic job researching for the upcoming spring, when the BOG votes on Tuition raises. With any luck, we will avoid a major raise this year. I will attempt to ask Pres. Aloia what his projections for a potential gain might be. Our President does care about tuition raises and how it affects students, so I look forward to crunching numbers with him over the next few months as well.
4). As a member of the Emergency Response team, I know more about what is going on with swine flu than any other student on campus. Before you start to worry over potential outbreaks, see me and I should know what to tell you about the news of it.
5). I am the student on our University Budgetary Committee. With any luck, I should be able to figure myself what potential tuition raises will be. I look forward to serving on this with Dr. Charles Becker, who is moving our University forward in his role as Interim VP of Business and Finance.
6). Kudos to VP Akeya Carter Bozman, who pulled off a wonderful Homecoming. She has definitely earned her paychecks this semester.
7). Kudos also to Justice Katlyn Amos, who is chairing our Dining Committee. When this year first began, I stated that I wanted a chair who would not bow down to Randy Keaton, like the Dining Committee has done for the past 3 years or so. She has made many strides for the Dining Hall. I plan on attending her committee soon and perhaps get behind some more improvements as well. She recently brought up a resolution to the Senate to get rid of trays in the cafeteria. I think her idea is great; however, if the University would save money on energy by not having to wash those dishes, I would want to see increased services in food we get. If the service of the trays is going to be stopped, then another service should be provided to take its place. This is what I hope to work with Dining Committee on resolving.
8). Kudos also to Senator Russell Christian, who is working closely with Dr. Aloia and Mark Stella to make our campus more safe.
9). I plan on working closely with Senator Cassidi Hall and her Technology Committee concerning the "one stop" card as well as better technology in our classrooms. As the McNair room indicates, our CAT center does not earn their paychecks. A bulb has been on its last leg in there for a while, and the CAT center refuses to fix the problem. Perhaps it is time that we fix the problem that is the CAT center.
There are more issues than this surrounding our campus, but this should be enough for one blog. Please, leave me your comments/thoughts/criticisms. I do not know what to work on, nor does the rest of our SGA, if you do not inform us. I write this blog not only for news but also to be transparent and open with fellow students of Concord, whom I represent.
See everyone around campus,
President Yeager
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
President's Desk: Library, Religious Studies, Incompetent Professors, Distance Learning, Fitness Center, SGA Secretary, Athletic Liaison Future Plans
Students of Concord,
It's been a few weeks since I have written to you from the President's Desk, but you should have seen and heard from me through various mediums--including the SGA Senate and the Concordian. As far as the Concordian goes, I would like to thank Editor Wendy Holdren for doing a great job covering SGA and allowing me to write an opinion article when the urge hits me to do so. I firmly believe that she is leading that paper in the right direction. Likewise, I feel that my administration is leading the SGA in the right direction. Here's a short recap of what we've done over the past few weeks:
1. Extend Library Hours--Some pundits say that we have not extended library hours; we have only gotten a room. The SGA e-mail account has gotten a couple of sarcastic e-mails saying that this is not enough, and why not have a full library? Like I told the Senate, as of now, the University does not have enough money to get a full library. If students use the extra room now, then perhaps they will. Construction will be done with a $5.2 million dollar grant to get a much larger after hours area in the near future. Large scale changes don't happen overnight; they take time. Other critics argue that students could simply use the Rahall building or the dorm lounges. Unlike those areas, our new library area is supervised and quiet. Likewise, they are available to commuters who might want to stay on campus, and it gives a student a job. I understand and am equally frustrated that the entire building is not yet open; however, the SGA did the best it could with the resources it had available to do it with. This certainly beats not having extra hours to study in there at all.
2. Buy Recycle Bins--My administration has started an attempt to greenify the campus by spending about $2,000 from leftover money to buy several recyle bins to place across campus in the near future. As soon as the money is allocated, we are leaving it up to Gary Thompson's Green Sustainability committee to place them in strategic locations.
3. Allocate Money to a Students Helping Students Scholarship Fund--This will be the first step in funding a scholarship to help Concord students in need each year. This was presented by CUSAC last year, and my administration is the first to fund it.
4. The "New Organization" Start-Up Fund--To keep new organizations from dying off early, Business Manager Belcher created a program within the Budgetary Process to allocate money to new organizations to help "get them started". This will hopefully encourage new organizations to grow on campus.
5. Get a new, capable Student Center Director--After Marshall Campbell left his position to go to the VP of HR, I have sat on a hiring committee to find the new Interim Student Union Director. The committee as a whole found Anna Mills Hardy. I look forward to working for her this year.
6. Endorse a Religious Studies Academic Program--I will get to that in a minute.
For just a few meetings, these are some nice changes. The leadership of my entire administration is great and vast, and I have the privilege of leading these capable leaders. Let's hope that this SGA keeps getting things done.
Speaking of my administration, SGA Secretary Eric Lopez sent me a message earlier saying that he has to resign because he needs to focus his time on academics. I respect that, but I wish that he would not have done so. I think that he was the most efficient Secretary that we have had in a long time. I will be taking applications over the next several weeks for someone to take his place.
Likewise, I have spent a great deal of time over the past few weeks interviewing new people to be in SGA. So far, I have appointed Jamie Reichert and Adam Pauley to Freshman Senator. I have also appointed Cassidi Hall and Kiwa Nadas to the position of Senator. With 3 new openings for Senator, I will likely be filling those slots over the next week with new applicants. Likewise, I feel great about my Judicial applicant-_Stephanie Lombardo. Once the Judicial Committee nominates her, I feel that she will do a great job in that role.
I also nominated Katrina Stewart to be Athletic Liaison to the SGA. Even though this position has not been defined in our bylaws, I plan on making it so. Basically, I feel that Athletic interests are being ignored by SGA, and I hope that Katrina can help bring athletic concerns to us as well as be part of our Executive Team.
Over the past few weeks, I have gotten several complaints from faculty that concern students. The first one is that the University is hiring new, incompetent professors who do not have any advanced degrees to be professors. Based on what faculty have told me, there are two professors like this. The first one currently teaches CART 102: Introduction to Theatre (He just graduated last May), and the other is in Social Sciences. This hiring practice is completely absurd and unacceptable. I sent Dean Smith an e-mail saying as such. Considering that Concord students pay a handsome sum of money each semester to attend a school of higher education, this University should give them quality professors. It completely waters down our degree when things like this occur. Hypothetically speaking, it would be the same as the University hiring me, an English student, to teach English 101 and 102 next year. As long as I have anything to say about it, these people will be gone by the spring; students deserve better.
The second issue deals with Distance Learning. Students who have had distance learning classes oftentimes get their classes canceled because the University staff who runs these classes are not competent enough to run the technology properly. As a student who has taken a distance learning class in Athens alongside people in Beckley, I know this is true. Poor technology oftentimes makes people lose their connections, and entire classes have had to be canceled because of it. When I announced this in SGA last week, Marshall Campbell stated that the University will be evaluating this in its new Strategic Planning Committee. I was fine with this at first, but after reflecting on it, I find that problematic. THe University should be doing things NOW to fix the problem for students who need the distance learning classes. If our Academic Dean or President of Concord University reads this, keep this in mind when you see me next. It's on my agenda.
I also announced last week that the Fitness Center seemed to close abruptly at its 6 AM opening time. I had a meeting with Bill Fraley about this last Friday, who was kind enough to show me why. Basically, only about one student used the facilities during that time. Likewise, the facility had a hard time opening that early because the student worker had a hard time showing up to be there. Once I saw the rationale, I had no problem with the decision. Kudos to Billy for taking time to come and talk to us.
Perhaps the most important thing that I have been working on involves Religious Studies. I know that most of you have heard my spill on why I think the program is important. Last week, I asked the Senate to endorse a program like this to be adopted by the University, and it unanimously (I say that with caution because I thought I saw one dissent) passed. As far as I'm concerned, this overwhelming vote of the Student Senate means more than any survey we can put out there over the program. The Student Senate represents the will and the voice of ALL students. With this vote, I plan on asking President Aloia, Dean Smith, and the new Faculty President to help make this program a reality. My vision is for a faculty committee to be created with a representative from each Division to implement the program. You guys will be hearing more about this in the coming weeks.
As far as my immediate future plans go, I will be seeking to work on the above things as well as find a new SGA Secretary along with more Senators. I also plan on making sure that our committees run efficiently and that each of them accomplishes things. No matter how hard the Executive Branch works, a SGA cannot work right without functioning committees. An enthusiastic Executive, an enthusiastic Legislature, and a less than enthusiastic Judicial Branch makes for a great SGA.
However, don't let me focus on these issues only. I write this blog to get student feedback as well as to mention what I am doing. Please, if you have any issues or problems, let me know about them. I am hearing more complaints about Concord from the faculty than from the students. If you have a problem or a question, let me know. That's why I'm working for you. The key to a good SGA is transparency. I am attempting to be transparent in order to know what to fix. If you have a complaint or an issue, I have a facebook. I'm in the SGA office frequently. I also have a phone; my cell phone is 304-890-9143. Let me know what is on your mind.
I hope you enjoy this blog, and please, give me constructive criticism. It's not healthy to have a government where everyone is in complete agreement.
See you later,
Jeff
It's been a few weeks since I have written to you from the President's Desk, but you should have seen and heard from me through various mediums--including the SGA Senate and the Concordian. As far as the Concordian goes, I would like to thank Editor Wendy Holdren for doing a great job covering SGA and allowing me to write an opinion article when the urge hits me to do so. I firmly believe that she is leading that paper in the right direction. Likewise, I feel that my administration is leading the SGA in the right direction. Here's a short recap of what we've done over the past few weeks:
1. Extend Library Hours--Some pundits say that we have not extended library hours; we have only gotten a room. The SGA e-mail account has gotten a couple of sarcastic e-mails saying that this is not enough, and why not have a full library? Like I told the Senate, as of now, the University does not have enough money to get a full library. If students use the extra room now, then perhaps they will. Construction will be done with a $5.2 million dollar grant to get a much larger after hours area in the near future. Large scale changes don't happen overnight; they take time. Other critics argue that students could simply use the Rahall building or the dorm lounges. Unlike those areas, our new library area is supervised and quiet. Likewise, they are available to commuters who might want to stay on campus, and it gives a student a job. I understand and am equally frustrated that the entire building is not yet open; however, the SGA did the best it could with the resources it had available to do it with. This certainly beats not having extra hours to study in there at all.
2. Buy Recycle Bins--My administration has started an attempt to greenify the campus by spending about $2,000 from leftover money to buy several recyle bins to place across campus in the near future. As soon as the money is allocated, we are leaving it up to Gary Thompson's Green Sustainability committee to place them in strategic locations.
3. Allocate Money to a Students Helping Students Scholarship Fund--This will be the first step in funding a scholarship to help Concord students in need each year. This was presented by CUSAC last year, and my administration is the first to fund it.
4. The "New Organization" Start-Up Fund--To keep new organizations from dying off early, Business Manager Belcher created a program within the Budgetary Process to allocate money to new organizations to help "get them started". This will hopefully encourage new organizations to grow on campus.
5. Get a new, capable Student Center Director--After Marshall Campbell left his position to go to the VP of HR, I have sat on a hiring committee to find the new Interim Student Union Director. The committee as a whole found Anna Mills Hardy. I look forward to working for her this year.
6. Endorse a Religious Studies Academic Program--I will get to that in a minute.
For just a few meetings, these are some nice changes. The leadership of my entire administration is great and vast, and I have the privilege of leading these capable leaders. Let's hope that this SGA keeps getting things done.
Speaking of my administration, SGA Secretary Eric Lopez sent me a message earlier saying that he has to resign because he needs to focus his time on academics. I respect that, but I wish that he would not have done so. I think that he was the most efficient Secretary that we have had in a long time. I will be taking applications over the next several weeks for someone to take his place.
Likewise, I have spent a great deal of time over the past few weeks interviewing new people to be in SGA. So far, I have appointed Jamie Reichert and Adam Pauley to Freshman Senator. I have also appointed Cassidi Hall and Kiwa Nadas to the position of Senator. With 3 new openings for Senator, I will likely be filling those slots over the next week with new applicants. Likewise, I feel great about my Judicial applicant-_Stephanie Lombardo. Once the Judicial Committee nominates her, I feel that she will do a great job in that role.
I also nominated Katrina Stewart to be Athletic Liaison to the SGA. Even though this position has not been defined in our bylaws, I plan on making it so. Basically, I feel that Athletic interests are being ignored by SGA, and I hope that Katrina can help bring athletic concerns to us as well as be part of our Executive Team.
Over the past few weeks, I have gotten several complaints from faculty that concern students. The first one is that the University is hiring new, incompetent professors who do not have any advanced degrees to be professors. Based on what faculty have told me, there are two professors like this. The first one currently teaches CART 102: Introduction to Theatre (He just graduated last May), and the other is in Social Sciences. This hiring practice is completely absurd and unacceptable. I sent Dean Smith an e-mail saying as such. Considering that Concord students pay a handsome sum of money each semester to attend a school of higher education, this University should give them quality professors. It completely waters down our degree when things like this occur. Hypothetically speaking, it would be the same as the University hiring me, an English student, to teach English 101 and 102 next year. As long as I have anything to say about it, these people will be gone by the spring; students deserve better.
The second issue deals with Distance Learning. Students who have had distance learning classes oftentimes get their classes canceled because the University staff who runs these classes are not competent enough to run the technology properly. As a student who has taken a distance learning class in Athens alongside people in Beckley, I know this is true. Poor technology oftentimes makes people lose their connections, and entire classes have had to be canceled because of it. When I announced this in SGA last week, Marshall Campbell stated that the University will be evaluating this in its new Strategic Planning Committee. I was fine with this at first, but after reflecting on it, I find that problematic. THe University should be doing things NOW to fix the problem for students who need the distance learning classes. If our Academic Dean or President of Concord University reads this, keep this in mind when you see me next. It's on my agenda.
I also announced last week that the Fitness Center seemed to close abruptly at its 6 AM opening time. I had a meeting with Bill Fraley about this last Friday, who was kind enough to show me why. Basically, only about one student used the facilities during that time. Likewise, the facility had a hard time opening that early because the student worker had a hard time showing up to be there. Once I saw the rationale, I had no problem with the decision. Kudos to Billy for taking time to come and talk to us.
Perhaps the most important thing that I have been working on involves Religious Studies. I know that most of you have heard my spill on why I think the program is important. Last week, I asked the Senate to endorse a program like this to be adopted by the University, and it unanimously (I say that with caution because I thought I saw one dissent) passed. As far as I'm concerned, this overwhelming vote of the Student Senate means more than any survey we can put out there over the program. The Student Senate represents the will and the voice of ALL students. With this vote, I plan on asking President Aloia, Dean Smith, and the new Faculty President to help make this program a reality. My vision is for a faculty committee to be created with a representative from each Division to implement the program. You guys will be hearing more about this in the coming weeks.
As far as my immediate future plans go, I will be seeking to work on the above things as well as find a new SGA Secretary along with more Senators. I also plan on making sure that our committees run efficiently and that each of them accomplishes things. No matter how hard the Executive Branch works, a SGA cannot work right without functioning committees. An enthusiastic Executive, an enthusiastic Legislature, and a less than enthusiastic Judicial Branch makes for a great SGA.
However, don't let me focus on these issues only. I write this blog to get student feedback as well as to mention what I am doing. Please, if you have any issues or problems, let me know about them. I am hearing more complaints about Concord from the faculty than from the students. If you have a problem or a question, let me know. That's why I'm working for you. The key to a good SGA is transparency. I am attempting to be transparent in order to know what to fix. If you have a complaint or an issue, I have a facebook. I'm in the SGA office frequently. I also have a phone; my cell phone is 304-890-9143. Let me know what is on your mind.
I hope you enjoy this blog, and please, give me constructive criticism. It's not healthy to have a government where everyone is in complete agreement.
See you later,
Jeff
Friday, August 28, 2009
President's Desk: Library, ADA compliance, Religious Studies, Parking, Tailgating and Visitation, Incoming Freshman Interest
Students of Concord,
This blog should be shorter than the previous ones, as I will simply not have as much to discuss now that I am in office permanently to where I report to the Senate every week. However, I do have a few points of interest to discuss in this blog that should be interesting for my readers to know.
First off, the library issue. The Senate discussed the initial proposal on Wednesday, and they tabled it until next week. The next day, Business Manager Belcher met with Dr. Rowe, and he found out that Concord was in fact charging us for some of the finals week as well as Sunday hours. Dr. Rowe, however, had enough money in his library budget to lower the cost of what it took to get the periodicals room down to approximately $1000. Once I found out this piece of news, I was overjoyed, and today, I confirmed to Dr. Flanigan, the Interim VP of Student Affairs, that I would take this amended deal to the Senate.
I have to give kudos to Matt on this one for helping to lower the bill. This only demonstrates that this year's Executive Board is a unified team that is working for the benefit of all students. Matt, as demonstrated by this meeting, will undoubtedly be a great manager of the student's money. The fact is that I should have discussed this deal with the entire Executive Board first before confirming it with the President, but at the time of the meeting I acted rashly and excitedly that we got the increased benefit that fast. I hope no one thinks less of me for making the mistake; as I mentioned before, my actions in securing the library deal were not perfect, but I did it acting in the best will of the student body--not necessarily the SGA itself. I still, however, do not see a problem with paying a one time fee, especially now that it's only $1,000, which is 1% of the SGA's budget, to give this great service to students. President Aloia, Dr. Flanigan, and I are all equally determined to improve academics at Concord, and hopefully once this library issue is ironed out, it will be the first of many improvements.
We were initially going to try to discuss this issue in our Joint Cabinet meeting with the administration in order to go over all the exact numbers before the first Senate meeting, but the SGA Executive Board had to cancel, as many of them had class. So, I had a with Dr. Aloia myself over various issues, alongside Attorney General Bill Lewis. I will discuss those in a minute. My greatest hope now is that this library issue passes without many qualms next week. Students will have the periodicals room that is monitored by the student worker (This worker will receive about $7.50 a hour pay for 10 hours a week), a monitored printer (since the SGA is helping to pay; we don't want any video game cheat codes being printed! :)) for about $900, with $1,000 being allocated for emergencies (such as getting a back up worker in case the scheduled worker does not show up). In my own opinion, I find this beyond reasonable. As I mentioned in my President's report last week, these are only the beginning of changes, as the 5.2 million dollar grant that the University is almost assured of getting from stimulus money should help to renovate an area for the rest of it, as well as fix leakage problems and to get new equipment.
I briefly mentioned ADA issues in my report last week, but since people seemed to be getting tired, I will elaborate some more. For quite some time now, students have had issues with the Fine Arts chairman in trying to get the Arts gallery up to ADA compliance standards. It does not have a ramp to get down to it, amongst other issues. I brought this up to Dr. Aloia in our meeting, and he mentioned that he was glad I brought it to his attention, and hopefully it will be taken care of this semester. I am thankful for this, as a student personally asked for me to do this so that his father could look at his art when it was presented in the gallery later this year. I will keep tabs over the course of the semester to make sure that's done. Also, with the 5.2 million grant, the new architect will work on bringing the Arts center up to code. Dr. Aloia is going to tear out all the sidewalks at Concord sometime probably next summer to bring those up to code, and we are also working on ways to improve the steep hill near the gazebo behind the Student Center. Progress is definitely being made in ADA compliance. As a student who has had knee surgery and who has been confined to wheelchairs and crutches in the past, I know how it feels to have to get around difficult places. ADA will not be the free committee that everyone goes to in this SGA; we will hopefully make some great progress.
For those who may have read the Concordian this week, I wrote a short blurb advocating for religious studies at University Point, which I mentioned several blogs ago. Look for a full article on that next week--just giving you a preview.
Dr. Aloia mentioned to the Senate that a parking garage might be in the works to fix the current parking problems on campus. This too would come from federal earmarking. Such a building would probably go behind Wooddell or near the President's house. In the meantime, however, our SGA needs to find ways of helping to improve parking on campus. It does not help that the "modular units" are blocking some spaces currently. The police staff are working hard to get students the best possible parking they can currently, but I will be encouraging the Executive Board to devise a plan to improve parking soon.
The SGA will hear about CUSAC's two proposed policies from last year, Visitation and Tailgating, by next week. I brought Attorney General Lewis to my last meeting with the President to talk about tailgating at more than just Homecoming, and the President seems receptive. However, these issues have to be hashed out in a University committee, and I am pleased to announce that a student representative will be on that committee. I would ideally like to serve if possible on that in order to help improve those services for students.
Perhaps the best news I have to offer about the SGA itself is that there is a great deal of interest by freshman this year! During the past week, I have spent many hours interviewing over 10 applicants for our four senator positions (it was three, but Senator Zach Graham resigned for personal reasons). I asked the Senate to increase the Senate number last week for one pure reason. Most of our current senior leadership team includes seniors, and all of these applicants appear to be born leaders! It is making my job hard to decide amongst them by next week. I'm hoping that if that bill passes, I can appoint most of the others. I am pleased and thankful that I will hopefully get to choose the student body's next great group of leaders.
Vale,
President Yeager
This blog should be shorter than the previous ones, as I will simply not have as much to discuss now that I am in office permanently to where I report to the Senate every week. However, I do have a few points of interest to discuss in this blog that should be interesting for my readers to know.
First off, the library issue. The Senate discussed the initial proposal on Wednesday, and they tabled it until next week. The next day, Business Manager Belcher met with Dr. Rowe, and he found out that Concord was in fact charging us for some of the finals week as well as Sunday hours. Dr. Rowe, however, had enough money in his library budget to lower the cost of what it took to get the periodicals room down to approximately $1000. Once I found out this piece of news, I was overjoyed, and today, I confirmed to Dr. Flanigan, the Interim VP of Student Affairs, that I would take this amended deal to the Senate.
I have to give kudos to Matt on this one for helping to lower the bill. This only demonstrates that this year's Executive Board is a unified team that is working for the benefit of all students. Matt, as demonstrated by this meeting, will undoubtedly be a great manager of the student's money. The fact is that I should have discussed this deal with the entire Executive Board first before confirming it with the President, but at the time of the meeting I acted rashly and excitedly that we got the increased benefit that fast. I hope no one thinks less of me for making the mistake; as I mentioned before, my actions in securing the library deal were not perfect, but I did it acting in the best will of the student body--not necessarily the SGA itself. I still, however, do not see a problem with paying a one time fee, especially now that it's only $1,000, which is 1% of the SGA's budget, to give this great service to students. President Aloia, Dr. Flanigan, and I are all equally determined to improve academics at Concord, and hopefully once this library issue is ironed out, it will be the first of many improvements.
We were initially going to try to discuss this issue in our Joint Cabinet meeting with the administration in order to go over all the exact numbers before the first Senate meeting, but the SGA Executive Board had to cancel, as many of them had class. So, I had a with Dr. Aloia myself over various issues, alongside Attorney General Bill Lewis. I will discuss those in a minute. My greatest hope now is that this library issue passes without many qualms next week. Students will have the periodicals room that is monitored by the student worker (This worker will receive about $7.50 a hour pay for 10 hours a week), a monitored printer (since the SGA is helping to pay; we don't want any video game cheat codes being printed! :)) for about $900, with $1,000 being allocated for emergencies (such as getting a back up worker in case the scheduled worker does not show up). In my own opinion, I find this beyond reasonable. As I mentioned in my President's report last week, these are only the beginning of changes, as the 5.2 million dollar grant that the University is almost assured of getting from stimulus money should help to renovate an area for the rest of it, as well as fix leakage problems and to get new equipment.
I briefly mentioned ADA issues in my report last week, but since people seemed to be getting tired, I will elaborate some more. For quite some time now, students have had issues with the Fine Arts chairman in trying to get the Arts gallery up to ADA compliance standards. It does not have a ramp to get down to it, amongst other issues. I brought this up to Dr. Aloia in our meeting, and he mentioned that he was glad I brought it to his attention, and hopefully it will be taken care of this semester. I am thankful for this, as a student personally asked for me to do this so that his father could look at his art when it was presented in the gallery later this year. I will keep tabs over the course of the semester to make sure that's done. Also, with the 5.2 million grant, the new architect will work on bringing the Arts center up to code. Dr. Aloia is going to tear out all the sidewalks at Concord sometime probably next summer to bring those up to code, and we are also working on ways to improve the steep hill near the gazebo behind the Student Center. Progress is definitely being made in ADA compliance. As a student who has had knee surgery and who has been confined to wheelchairs and crutches in the past, I know how it feels to have to get around difficult places. ADA will not be the free committee that everyone goes to in this SGA; we will hopefully make some great progress.
For those who may have read the Concordian this week, I wrote a short blurb advocating for religious studies at University Point, which I mentioned several blogs ago. Look for a full article on that next week--just giving you a preview.
Dr. Aloia mentioned to the Senate that a parking garage might be in the works to fix the current parking problems on campus. This too would come from federal earmarking. Such a building would probably go behind Wooddell or near the President's house. In the meantime, however, our SGA needs to find ways of helping to improve parking on campus. It does not help that the "modular units" are blocking some spaces currently. The police staff are working hard to get students the best possible parking they can currently, but I will be encouraging the Executive Board to devise a plan to improve parking soon.
The SGA will hear about CUSAC's two proposed policies from last year, Visitation and Tailgating, by next week. I brought Attorney General Lewis to my last meeting with the President to talk about tailgating at more than just Homecoming, and the President seems receptive. However, these issues have to be hashed out in a University committee, and I am pleased to announce that a student representative will be on that committee. I would ideally like to serve if possible on that in order to help improve those services for students.
Perhaps the best news I have to offer about the SGA itself is that there is a great deal of interest by freshman this year! During the past week, I have spent many hours interviewing over 10 applicants for our four senator positions (it was three, but Senator Zach Graham resigned for personal reasons). I asked the Senate to increase the Senate number last week for one pure reason. Most of our current senior leadership team includes seniors, and all of these applicants appear to be born leaders! It is making my job hard to decide amongst them by next week. I'm hoping that if that bill passes, I can appoint most of the others. I am pleased and thankful that I will hopefully get to choose the student body's next great group of leaders.
Vale,
President Yeager
Saturday, August 15, 2009
President's Desk: Corrections from my last blog, Executive Retreat, Housing Disaster, and Freshman Orientation
Hello students,
Considering the rather controversial events that have gone on with the Housing issue at Concord over the past few days, I thought that I would write and join BOG Representative Curtis Kearns in his arguments against the temporary housing. Like Curtis, I believe that Rick Dillon and his team have done an amazing job with the Housing crisis. I was on campus today (and over the past few days) getting ready for freshman orientation, so Attorney General Lewis, Public Defender Lawson, and I all decided to take a tour of the overflow situation in all of our lounges. The Housing staff was very cooperative with letting us into rooms, keying us in, and allowing us to talk with students about the temporary housing. When I read Curtis's blog last night, he made an argument that while it's hard for the University to turn away students, it is also extremely difficult for students to succeed when they can't even get the most basic of needs taken care of at Concord--private space and shelter. After inspecting the rooms today, I completely agree with his argument. I inspected rooms in South Tower where bunk beds were stacked side by side (basically 2 guys were sleeping by one another on the top and bottom bunk--just in separate beds. That's how crowded it was). Another room had a big blot on the floor that literally looked as if someone died in there and left blood stains (it was rusted that badly). One room that students lived in within the North Tower didn't even have a door in the foyer that allowed the students living within it to have any privacy whatsoever. They did, however, have a pretty sweet kitchen. Wooddell temporary housing features the little room right next to the laundry room. In it, students are sleeping in a sweltering area (although it is very spacy) in the basement without much air coming in from the windows. The windows have to be shut since it's practically underground. For those students, I asked Rick to find a way to get them air conditioning, which he agreed to try to do.
Basically, I feel really bad for all these students. I feel bad for Housing as well. Rick and his staff have dealt with numerous frustrated people, people who have every right to be frustrated. He and his staff are waiting to see how many people don't show up. At that point, he can probably start moving people out of the lounges back into rooms; however, it's unlikely that people who don't show will give everyone a room. After examining the situation today, my SGA must act. I cannot sit by idly while students cannot even have a place to study. Concord is a school dedicated to academics. How can a student succeed living in the barracks? The SGA is currently pushing issues like the library hours because we believe that academics part is the most important thing here at Concord. Before the SGA can act though, it must first get a report from Rick on how the University is dealing with the overflow. It's just a shame that we must rely on people to get disgusted to not even attend this institution. By doing this, Concord is losing a great amount of academic potential. Before the SGA issues any kind of response, we will first assess the situation and then come to a unified decision as an Executive Board. This kind of decision, as important as it is to Concord, should not be up to me alone, Curtis, or the rest of the team. I feel that we should make a decision as your leadership team that we can all live with and agree on to represent our constituency.
Furthermore, I want to address some mistakes I made in my last blog. I had my first meeting of the year with President Aloia, who is a reader, and he pointed out some things that I must correct. First off, I mentioned in the last blog over the interim hires that the SGA needs to be consulted. I stated that "we are not idiots; we are a group of savvy students who demand a voice." By making that comment, I had no intention of expressing that Dr. Aloia thinks we're a bunch of idiots. My intention was to brag on my Executive Team and to express that we mean business. So, I apologize as well if this is how my readers took the comment, as Dr. Aloia does not think that way. I am still firm on my stance though that the SGA should at least have some input on interim hires. I also stand by the idea of the domino effect--that is, the possibility of interim hires not working causing other interim hires to fall back into their original spots--being a huge problem. The argument against the interim idea is that the University has no other choice because of the tight budget and the economy. I can agree to that in part, but I do not agree that all of the potential talent can be found at Concord. As much as I admire and respect the faculty and staff at Concord, I don't think they belong in administrative posts. They should be doing what they do best--teaching in the classroom. It's a disservice to our academic programs taking someone like Chuck Becker or Marshall Campbell, two outstanding professors, out of the classroom. But, I never meant to convey the idea that Dr. Aloia thought we were a bunch of bumbling buffoons; the fact that he is meeting with us and is listening to our concerns proves the exact opposite point. I also was vague when I mentioned who shot down the idea of a religious studies program at University Point. The administration did not do this; the faculty did. I did not express in my last blog who did not listen to the requests of the Concord history department, so I am clearing up that ambiguity that I left. That is why our Faculty Senate Representative, Ashley Green, probably has the most important job of any of us this year. She needs to work closely with the History department to insure that classes are taught at University Point to justify that project to students. If she can do that with my help and somehow convince the faculty of the importance (they pretty much don't want to hire another Philosophy professor), then our SGA will have truly done something worthwhile.
The SGA Executive retreat is also underway. We arrived back on Thursday and have had 2 4 hour meetings planning for the year. Basically, to this point, we've talked about a ton of ideas, as well as planned the agendas for the committees to examine this year. The only money that we have spent, unlike previous SGA's, is meals together in the cafeteria, which we have spent talking about how we can improve dining, as well as some lanyards so that freshman could identify us at orientation. On the business side of the retreat, we still plan on coming up with specific agendas for officers to handle, but some of these things are obvious. Under this government, I, for example, do not want the focus of the Attorney General on impeaching the President. That is the faulty ideology of infighting that has made the SGA a mockery. I would much rather see him focus on Judicial and Ethical reform in our government. I want the Vice President to run the committees effectively to insure that our work is done. People can blame the Executive branches of the past all they want to, but when committees week after week give a "No Report" to the Senate, something is wrong. Those kinds of reports are going to be looked at with disdain in my administration. In order for this SGA to work, we need an enthusiastic Executive, an enthusiastic Senate, and a less than enthusiastic, hands off Judicial (I digress).
The freshman orientation, besides the overflow situation, also seemed like a great event. My team was on the campus shaking parents' and students' hands as they moved in today. They talked to incoming students, got their stories, and offered help for any concerns. I spoke to incoming freshman on stage, encouraging them to get involved and to seek our help if they needed it. It was overall a good day that could not have been successful without the hard work of my entire team. We all probably pulled 12+ hours today. I was probably the first one to tire out--the rest of my team went to the freshman party, but at that point, I had had enough!
Please, for all of my readers, I always appreciate constructive criticism/thoughts/concerns/ideas. As I mention in all of my messages, I cannot do my job effectively without ideas from the students. I am here for you. If I'm not doing this job right, tell me. If there is something I need to address, let me know. The transparency in this government is open to anyone, and by doing this, we can create a better government for the people. Chris Slater alluded to this in his last blog, and as Ashley Green mentioned in her response, it is not me alone; my entire executive board wishes to be accountable with transparency. Sometime over the next week, instead of a President's desk blog, expect a youtube address just as our Attorney General did.
One more thing--next Tuesday, August 25, the day before the first Senate meeting, my entire cabinet will meet with Dr. Aloia's entire cabinet. This kind of event is unprecedented in Student Government at Concord. Trust me--we will be the most fully prepared and the most professional SGA that he has ever seen in his entire career that day. That's a promise.
Cheers,
President Yeager
Considering the rather controversial events that have gone on with the Housing issue at Concord over the past few days, I thought that I would write and join BOG Representative Curtis Kearns in his arguments against the temporary housing. Like Curtis, I believe that Rick Dillon and his team have done an amazing job with the Housing crisis. I was on campus today (and over the past few days) getting ready for freshman orientation, so Attorney General Lewis, Public Defender Lawson, and I all decided to take a tour of the overflow situation in all of our lounges. The Housing staff was very cooperative with letting us into rooms, keying us in, and allowing us to talk with students about the temporary housing. When I read Curtis's blog last night, he made an argument that while it's hard for the University to turn away students, it is also extremely difficult for students to succeed when they can't even get the most basic of needs taken care of at Concord--private space and shelter. After inspecting the rooms today, I completely agree with his argument. I inspected rooms in South Tower where bunk beds were stacked side by side (basically 2 guys were sleeping by one another on the top and bottom bunk--just in separate beds. That's how crowded it was). Another room had a big blot on the floor that literally looked as if someone died in there and left blood stains (it was rusted that badly). One room that students lived in within the North Tower didn't even have a door in the foyer that allowed the students living within it to have any privacy whatsoever. They did, however, have a pretty sweet kitchen. Wooddell temporary housing features the little room right next to the laundry room. In it, students are sleeping in a sweltering area (although it is very spacy) in the basement without much air coming in from the windows. The windows have to be shut since it's practically underground. For those students, I asked Rick to find a way to get them air conditioning, which he agreed to try to do.
Basically, I feel really bad for all these students. I feel bad for Housing as well. Rick and his staff have dealt with numerous frustrated people, people who have every right to be frustrated. He and his staff are waiting to see how many people don't show up. At that point, he can probably start moving people out of the lounges back into rooms; however, it's unlikely that people who don't show will give everyone a room. After examining the situation today, my SGA must act. I cannot sit by idly while students cannot even have a place to study. Concord is a school dedicated to academics. How can a student succeed living in the barracks? The SGA is currently pushing issues like the library hours because we believe that academics part is the most important thing here at Concord. Before the SGA can act though, it must first get a report from Rick on how the University is dealing with the overflow. It's just a shame that we must rely on people to get disgusted to not even attend this institution. By doing this, Concord is losing a great amount of academic potential. Before the SGA issues any kind of response, we will first assess the situation and then come to a unified decision as an Executive Board. This kind of decision, as important as it is to Concord, should not be up to me alone, Curtis, or the rest of the team. I feel that we should make a decision as your leadership team that we can all live with and agree on to represent our constituency.
Furthermore, I want to address some mistakes I made in my last blog. I had my first meeting of the year with President Aloia, who is a reader, and he pointed out some things that I must correct. First off, I mentioned in the last blog over the interim hires that the SGA needs to be consulted. I stated that "we are not idiots; we are a group of savvy students who demand a voice." By making that comment, I had no intention of expressing that Dr. Aloia thinks we're a bunch of idiots. My intention was to brag on my Executive Team and to express that we mean business. So, I apologize as well if this is how my readers took the comment, as Dr. Aloia does not think that way. I am still firm on my stance though that the SGA should at least have some input on interim hires. I also stand by the idea of the domino effect--that is, the possibility of interim hires not working causing other interim hires to fall back into their original spots--being a huge problem. The argument against the interim idea is that the University has no other choice because of the tight budget and the economy. I can agree to that in part, but I do not agree that all of the potential talent can be found at Concord. As much as I admire and respect the faculty and staff at Concord, I don't think they belong in administrative posts. They should be doing what they do best--teaching in the classroom. It's a disservice to our academic programs taking someone like Chuck Becker or Marshall Campbell, two outstanding professors, out of the classroom. But, I never meant to convey the idea that Dr. Aloia thought we were a bunch of bumbling buffoons; the fact that he is meeting with us and is listening to our concerns proves the exact opposite point. I also was vague when I mentioned who shot down the idea of a religious studies program at University Point. The administration did not do this; the faculty did. I did not express in my last blog who did not listen to the requests of the Concord history department, so I am clearing up that ambiguity that I left. That is why our Faculty Senate Representative, Ashley Green, probably has the most important job of any of us this year. She needs to work closely with the History department to insure that classes are taught at University Point to justify that project to students. If she can do that with my help and somehow convince the faculty of the importance (they pretty much don't want to hire another Philosophy professor), then our SGA will have truly done something worthwhile.
The SGA Executive retreat is also underway. We arrived back on Thursday and have had 2 4 hour meetings planning for the year. Basically, to this point, we've talked about a ton of ideas, as well as planned the agendas for the committees to examine this year. The only money that we have spent, unlike previous SGA's, is meals together in the cafeteria, which we have spent talking about how we can improve dining, as well as some lanyards so that freshman could identify us at orientation. On the business side of the retreat, we still plan on coming up with specific agendas for officers to handle, but some of these things are obvious. Under this government, I, for example, do not want the focus of the Attorney General on impeaching the President. That is the faulty ideology of infighting that has made the SGA a mockery. I would much rather see him focus on Judicial and Ethical reform in our government. I want the Vice President to run the committees effectively to insure that our work is done. People can blame the Executive branches of the past all they want to, but when committees week after week give a "No Report" to the Senate, something is wrong. Those kinds of reports are going to be looked at with disdain in my administration. In order for this SGA to work, we need an enthusiastic Executive, an enthusiastic Senate, and a less than enthusiastic, hands off Judicial (I digress).
The freshman orientation, besides the overflow situation, also seemed like a great event. My team was on the campus shaking parents' and students' hands as they moved in today. They talked to incoming students, got their stories, and offered help for any concerns. I spoke to incoming freshman on stage, encouraging them to get involved and to seek our help if they needed it. It was overall a good day that could not have been successful without the hard work of my entire team. We all probably pulled 12+ hours today. I was probably the first one to tire out--the rest of my team went to the freshman party, but at that point, I had had enough!
Please, for all of my readers, I always appreciate constructive criticism/thoughts/concerns/ideas. As I mention in all of my messages, I cannot do my job effectively without ideas from the students. I am here for you. If I'm not doing this job right, tell me. If there is something I need to address, let me know. The transparency in this government is open to anyone, and by doing this, we can create a better government for the people. Chris Slater alluded to this in his last blog, and as Ashley Green mentioned in her response, it is not me alone; my entire executive board wishes to be accountable with transparency. Sometime over the next week, instead of a President's desk blog, expect a youtube address just as our Attorney General did.
One more thing--next Tuesday, August 25, the day before the first Senate meeting, my entire cabinet will meet with Dr. Aloia's entire cabinet. This kind of event is unprecedented in Student Government at Concord. Trust me--we will be the most fully prepared and the most professional SGA that he has ever seen in his entire career that day. That's a promise.
Cheers,
President Yeager
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Uni Point Day Pictures and Commentary, the Interim Carousel, Dining Issues, Concord Card changes, Change machine, Officer Pay, and Ad Hoc Committees
Hello students of Concord,
Yesterday had to have been the most interesting day of my presidency so far. As everyone knows, there has been quite a few interesting pieces of news at Concord the past few weeks, but it keeps getting better. A few weeks ago, Greg Quick invited me to University Point Press Day, so I decided that I would do my best to slick up and attend this event. I'm glad that I did because I helped to represent the students in a ceremonial role while there, and at the same time, I gained some unique insights on the project. Business Manager Belcher and Concordian Editor Wendy Holdren also participated in the Press Day. As you can see from this picture on the Concord website, I look completely ridiculous in the hard hat as I go through the work zone.
This building has a unique history. It was conceptualized by former President Marsh, who tried to find donations for it over the course of time. The project costed $5.7 million in the long haul. Marsh apparently had a vision of a building like this on campus, and several alumni bought into it. The building has had some generous benefactors, several of which were at the event. I thought that Greg Quick did an admirable job of making them feel welcome to Concord and thanking them for their help, but let's continue onward. As we walked into the building, the first thing we looked at was the new alumni office. It will be set up for conferences and all kinds of great things. We also saw a large room that would be fit for something like a wedding reception. Unfortunately, Concord did not post any pictures of these rooms on their website, but perhaps Wendy might be able to improvise as she took pictures herself in a future blog. All of these rooms are looking quite eloquent, and they have nice views and take advantage of the natural light. One thing that I did notice, however, was the lack of classroom space. During our tour, I only noticed one classroom, which really disappoints me. Over the course of time, the previous administration promised students that things like a philosophy and religion curriculum could be taught at University Point, but I honestly did not see the room for it. The classroom looked about the size of Admin 300, and I can't see too much potential for academics over there. This really was a low blow for students in my opinion, as it destroyed any practical benefit that the building offered. Despite this, I think that we should still fight to have these things taught in this building, even if we have to use the alumni office to do it. In the fall, I will speak to Professor Manzione who is in charge of the Philosophy curriculum in order to see what the current status of having classes over there is. I know that he has fought to have a History w/ Emphasis in Religion program over there, but his reasonable requests have largely gone unheeded.
The actual "chapel", which has been the front for having a glorified alumni office, also opened. The room will appear to look quite beautiful. Here is a picture:
In this room, we had our press conference. Dr. Aloia, Greg Quick, BOG Chair Mr. Long, and the donors all spoke to the press about the building. One speaker whom I remember particularly well spoke highly about how this building would help the "faculty, staff, and alumni." Let me think about that--who is missing? Mr. Quick was gracious enough to acknowledge my presence during the meeting, and afterward, I had the chance to mingle with some of the donors and the architects of the building. I also had the chance to give a moment of reflection at the dinner afterward. The picture Concord took of me after the reception was quite amusing because the look on my face seems to be a look of blown away disbelief.
All in all, the trip was quite insightful indeed. The building really has no tangible benefits for students--not unless classes can be taught there. I encourage students of various religions to use the facilities, but I am concerned that some religions that are not quite understood may not be tolerated. My greatest hope is that the building turn into a cash cow for the University so that it can help students avoid gigantic tuition raises. I do believe in the vision Greg Quick is presenting in his role as Interim VP, and I know that he will probably have success in reaching out to the alumni to use the facilities. It can be used to have weddings, hold receptions, have Concord dinners for alumni, hold conferences; the building has many possibilities. It's just up to Greg Quick to take advantage of them and to be able to justify building it. I do not quite know if even the tangible benefits of building this "University Alumni Center" can outweigh the $5.7 million dollars it costed to build it. Students have fought this measure for years, and largely, they have lost. We cannot help it though, nor can Dr. Aloia really for that matter as this issue largely preceded him. It was the attempt of Concord to keep reaching back into the nineteenth century rather than to progress into the twenty-first. As University Point begins to open, I can promise you though that the SGA will give the administration an earful along with the faculty in increasing our academic programs over there.
In other news--the interim carousel seems to be reaching no end. An Interim Student Center Director still has not been found. A new interim Associate Academic Dean is needed. I spoke with a few faculty, and many of them are concerned. Several told me that they heard about the latest appointments way after they happened, and they largely had no consultation on the issue. It just seems to me as if Dr. Aloia is alienating both faculty and students with his rash decisions. OR, Dr. Aloia consults various groups about who he might want for an administrative post, except students. In a way, this reminds me of the issue SGA largely faced last year. Even though Dr. Aloia is not technically required to ask us about his interim appointments, the question is, should he at least do so anyway to reach out to us? Face it, we are not a group of idiots; we are a savvy group of students at Concord, and we're demanding a voice. Yesterday, the SGA Executive Board agreed to send a letter of disapproval to Dr. Aloia over largely ignoring students. It will take me a while to draft it, but I am using my discretion as President this summer to largely act in the interests of SGA in sending such a letter with the board's permission. We do not intend on being harsh or reprimanding in tone, but we do intend on reminding him that in order to run a university, we must work together as a unified team. My administration is willing to work and compromise with the Uni. administration, so long as he is willing to do the same thing. Either way, I want to publically acknowledge whoever made the new interim cartoon; it was great.
Dining issues update! According to Rick, each dorm is receiving a renovation to its kitchen facilities. South Towers is receiving one now. I am pleased to hear this. Next year, North Towers will receive one, and then Sarvay following Wooddell last. I also spoke to Rick about perhaps allowing students to use their flex dollars at Gino's. He said that Gino's would be willing to do this, but he feared that our current technology might not be able to do it. After he said that, I mentioned that perhaps the SGA and Housing could work together on getting a card similar to the system that Marshall University has. He is willing to work with us on that. If the negotiations go well, we could perhaps get an updated system next year, as it would largely take the University buying the software required to run it since the software is used by many other colleges. It would in essence be a one stop card--use it to get into the dorms (which would be an effective sign in for opposite sex visitation, you could use it in the library, you could use your flex dollars, you could make it a debit card, there are many possibilities. You can ask any Marshall student what it does. The bottom line is that I want this issue resolved by the end of my administration, and I plan on working with the Housing Committee to see that this happens.
Another thing I mentioned was the possibility of acquiring a change machine for the Student Center. The problem with change machines is that they don't make any money, so companies largely don't have them anymore. As everyone knows, it's very difficult to get change around campus. Rick mentioned that such a machine might cost a few thousand, and he could help the SGA for the cost of one. Or, he could negotiate with Aramark at the end of next year to make sure that a change machine comes down in a deal. So, it is up to the students to tell me what to do. We can either get one now, or wait a year to get one for free. I'd appreciate some feedback.
The SGA Executive Board also settled the officer pay issue. Many executives felt disgruntled at their initial pay cut, so we agreed to some cuts that everyone seemed to feel comfortable with. The VP again got another raise from the last cut we proposed.
President--$400. Previously made $450 per month
Vice President--$325. Previously made $200
Business Manager--$350. Previously made $425
Attorney General--$325. Previously made $350
Public Defender--$325. Previously made $350.
Ombudsman--$325. Previously made $350.
Secretary--$250. Previously made $350.
Parliamentarian--$0. Previously made $50.
Chief Justice--$325. Previously made $425.
Prime Justice--$200. Previously made $200.
This resolved the Prime Justice pay conflict over new duties taking the place of old ones. We're paying her the same. Besides the Vice President, cuts were made across the board, and Business Manager Belcher said that this would cut about $3,250 per year. That's not bad to say the least. Everyone seemed happy about it, so hopefully there will not be anymore issues over this policy.
Also, I wanted to announce some ad-hoc committees that I plan on introducing to the SGA this fall. It will definitely be a year for reform. Some mentioned are:
Multicultural Affairs--Chaired by VP Akeya Carter Bozman
Judicial Reform--Chaired by AG Bill Lewis
Budgetary Reform--Chaired by BM Matthew Belcher
Tuition and Fees--Chaired by BOG Rep Curtis Kearns
Energy Conservation Committee--unknown chairman
Hopefully there will be more.
In the next few days, I plan on finding answers about the military accommodation policy, which has apparently become buried since the Cook Administration. Senator Hicks called me to remind me about it, and I think that this should definitely be a policy that is enacted. I am also going to check into getting 2 more tables for the Gazebo/Pavilion in order to get more space; Sean Noland and I both concluded that we could fit more. I am also going to check on another green issue that Senator Hicks mentioned to me about conserving in the dorms. Yesterday was a 10 hour day for me as your President, so I will talk more on these issues in the next blog.
Oh--one more thing. Ombudsman Brittany Keys will serve on the search committee to find a new librarian to replace Mr. Turnbull. And yes, it's not interim!
Until next time,
President Yeager
Yesterday had to have been the most interesting day of my presidency so far. As everyone knows, there has been quite a few interesting pieces of news at Concord the past few weeks, but it keeps getting better. A few weeks ago, Greg Quick invited me to University Point Press Day, so I decided that I would do my best to slick up and attend this event. I'm glad that I did because I helped to represent the students in a ceremonial role while there, and at the same time, I gained some unique insights on the project. Business Manager Belcher and Concordian Editor Wendy Holdren also participated in the Press Day. As you can see from this picture on the Concord website, I look completely ridiculous in the hard hat as I go through the work zone.
This building has a unique history. It was conceptualized by former President Marsh, who tried to find donations for it over the course of time. The project costed $5.7 million in the long haul. Marsh apparently had a vision of a building like this on campus, and several alumni bought into it. The building has had some generous benefactors, several of which were at the event. I thought that Greg Quick did an admirable job of making them feel welcome to Concord and thanking them for their help, but let's continue onward. As we walked into the building, the first thing we looked at was the new alumni office. It will be set up for conferences and all kinds of great things. We also saw a large room that would be fit for something like a wedding reception. Unfortunately, Concord did not post any pictures of these rooms on their website, but perhaps Wendy might be able to improvise as she took pictures herself in a future blog. All of these rooms are looking quite eloquent, and they have nice views and take advantage of the natural light. One thing that I did notice, however, was the lack of classroom space. During our tour, I only noticed one classroom, which really disappoints me. Over the course of time, the previous administration promised students that things like a philosophy and religion curriculum could be taught at University Point, but I honestly did not see the room for it. The classroom looked about the size of Admin 300, and I can't see too much potential for academics over there. This really was a low blow for students in my opinion, as it destroyed any practical benefit that the building offered. Despite this, I think that we should still fight to have these things taught in this building, even if we have to use the alumni office to do it. In the fall, I will speak to Professor Manzione who is in charge of the Philosophy curriculum in order to see what the current status of having classes over there is. I know that he has fought to have a History w/ Emphasis in Religion program over there, but his reasonable requests have largely gone unheeded.
The actual "chapel", which has been the front for having a glorified alumni office, also opened. The room will appear to look quite beautiful. Here is a picture:
In this room, we had our press conference. Dr. Aloia, Greg Quick, BOG Chair Mr. Long, and the donors all spoke to the press about the building. One speaker whom I remember particularly well spoke highly about how this building would help the "faculty, staff, and alumni." Let me think about that--who is missing? Mr. Quick was gracious enough to acknowledge my presence during the meeting, and afterward, I had the chance to mingle with some of the donors and the architects of the building. I also had the chance to give a moment of reflection at the dinner afterward. The picture Concord took of me after the reception was quite amusing because the look on my face seems to be a look of blown away disbelief.
All in all, the trip was quite insightful indeed. The building really has no tangible benefits for students--not unless classes can be taught there. I encourage students of various religions to use the facilities, but I am concerned that some religions that are not quite understood may not be tolerated. My greatest hope is that the building turn into a cash cow for the University so that it can help students avoid gigantic tuition raises. I do believe in the vision Greg Quick is presenting in his role as Interim VP, and I know that he will probably have success in reaching out to the alumni to use the facilities. It can be used to have weddings, hold receptions, have Concord dinners for alumni, hold conferences; the building has many possibilities. It's just up to Greg Quick to take advantage of them and to be able to justify building it. I do not quite know if even the tangible benefits of building this "University Alumni Center" can outweigh the $5.7 million dollars it costed to build it. Students have fought this measure for years, and largely, they have lost. We cannot help it though, nor can Dr. Aloia really for that matter as this issue largely preceded him. It was the attempt of Concord to keep reaching back into the nineteenth century rather than to progress into the twenty-first. As University Point begins to open, I can promise you though that the SGA will give the administration an earful along with the faculty in increasing our academic programs over there.
In other news--the interim carousel seems to be reaching no end. An Interim Student Center Director still has not been found. A new interim Associate Academic Dean is needed. I spoke with a few faculty, and many of them are concerned. Several told me that they heard about the latest appointments way after they happened, and they largely had no consultation on the issue. It just seems to me as if Dr. Aloia is alienating both faculty and students with his rash decisions. OR, Dr. Aloia consults various groups about who he might want for an administrative post, except students. In a way, this reminds me of the issue SGA largely faced last year. Even though Dr. Aloia is not technically required to ask us about his interim appointments, the question is, should he at least do so anyway to reach out to us? Face it, we are not a group of idiots; we are a savvy group of students at Concord, and we're demanding a voice. Yesterday, the SGA Executive Board agreed to send a letter of disapproval to Dr. Aloia over largely ignoring students. It will take me a while to draft it, but I am using my discretion as President this summer to largely act in the interests of SGA in sending such a letter with the board's permission. We do not intend on being harsh or reprimanding in tone, but we do intend on reminding him that in order to run a university, we must work together as a unified team. My administration is willing to work and compromise with the Uni. administration, so long as he is willing to do the same thing. Either way, I want to publically acknowledge whoever made the new interim cartoon; it was great.
Dining issues update! According to Rick, each dorm is receiving a renovation to its kitchen facilities. South Towers is receiving one now. I am pleased to hear this. Next year, North Towers will receive one, and then Sarvay following Wooddell last. I also spoke to Rick about perhaps allowing students to use their flex dollars at Gino's. He said that Gino's would be willing to do this, but he feared that our current technology might not be able to do it. After he said that, I mentioned that perhaps the SGA and Housing could work together on getting a card similar to the system that Marshall University has. He is willing to work with us on that. If the negotiations go well, we could perhaps get an updated system next year, as it would largely take the University buying the software required to run it since the software is used by many other colleges. It would in essence be a one stop card--use it to get into the dorms (which would be an effective sign in for opposite sex visitation, you could use it in the library, you could use your flex dollars, you could make it a debit card, there are many possibilities. You can ask any Marshall student what it does. The bottom line is that I want this issue resolved by the end of my administration, and I plan on working with the Housing Committee to see that this happens.
Another thing I mentioned was the possibility of acquiring a change machine for the Student Center. The problem with change machines is that they don't make any money, so companies largely don't have them anymore. As everyone knows, it's very difficult to get change around campus. Rick mentioned that such a machine might cost a few thousand, and he could help the SGA for the cost of one. Or, he could negotiate with Aramark at the end of next year to make sure that a change machine comes down in a deal. So, it is up to the students to tell me what to do. We can either get one now, or wait a year to get one for free. I'd appreciate some feedback.
The SGA Executive Board also settled the officer pay issue. Many executives felt disgruntled at their initial pay cut, so we agreed to some cuts that everyone seemed to feel comfortable with. The VP again got another raise from the last cut we proposed.
President--$400. Previously made $450 per month
Vice President--$325. Previously made $200
Business Manager--$350. Previously made $425
Attorney General--$325. Previously made $350
Public Defender--$325. Previously made $350.
Ombudsman--$325. Previously made $350.
Secretary--$250. Previously made $350.
Parliamentarian--$0. Previously made $50.
Chief Justice--$325. Previously made $425.
Prime Justice--$200. Previously made $200.
This resolved the Prime Justice pay conflict over new duties taking the place of old ones. We're paying her the same. Besides the Vice President, cuts were made across the board, and Business Manager Belcher said that this would cut about $3,250 per year. That's not bad to say the least. Everyone seemed happy about it, so hopefully there will not be anymore issues over this policy.
Also, I wanted to announce some ad-hoc committees that I plan on introducing to the SGA this fall. It will definitely be a year for reform. Some mentioned are:
Multicultural Affairs--Chaired by VP Akeya Carter Bozman
Judicial Reform--Chaired by AG Bill Lewis
Budgetary Reform--Chaired by BM Matthew Belcher
Tuition and Fees--Chaired by BOG Rep Curtis Kearns
Energy Conservation Committee--unknown chairman
Hopefully there will be more.
In the next few days, I plan on finding answers about the military accommodation policy, which has apparently become buried since the Cook Administration. Senator Hicks called me to remind me about it, and I think that this should definitely be a policy that is enacted. I am also going to check into getting 2 more tables for the Gazebo/Pavilion in order to get more space; Sean Noland and I both concluded that we could fit more. I am also going to check on another green issue that Senator Hicks mentioned to me about conserving in the dorms. Yesterday was a 10 hour day for me as your President, so I will talk more on these issues in the next blog.
Oh--one more thing. Ombudsman Brittany Keys will serve on the search committee to find a new librarian to replace Mr. Turnbull. And yes, it's not interim!
Until next time,
President Yeager
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Important Dining News and Updates, New Academic Dean, New Vice President for Student Affairs, Dean of Students, Student Center & Library Update,
Hello Concordians,
It has just been a few days since I last blogged to you from the President's Desk, but the past few days have been some eventful ones at Concord. I have heard some news that I am going to share with you--news that will probably be confirmed on Monday (It was confirmed to me from various conversations with various people). I'm also going to give you an update on various projects that I have been looking into.
The first thing I will discuss--Dining. Before I officially became President, an ad hoc commitee was formed with me, Marshall Campbell, and Rick Dillon in an attempt to renegotiate the contract with Aramark. In this attempt, we have gained quite a few incentives for students (I have to hand it to both Marshall and Rick over myself on this one--it seemed as if I was only a mere participant during our meetings because they did most of the talking.) Here is what you will receive, starting this fall:
1. The Dining Hall will be open for dinner until 7 PM this fall, from Sunday through Thursday night. This will allow many more students to eat, and it will also allow students more flexibility who have athletics and night classes.
2. The Dining Hall will create a new station that will serve "ready to order" rice/noodles, proteins, and veggies. In other words, a student will select a starch, the meat/poultry, seafood, and then be stirfried before serving.
3. Dining is going to add $7.50 in flex dollars for both semesters. So, you will have $7.50 more on both the 12 meal and 7 meal plan in the fall, and an additional $7.50 in the spring.
When I served on this committee, one point I attempted to make was that if board money increases, students should likewise see a service given to them in return. The extra hour of dining and the other incentives are certainly a good start. As I mentioned, I plan on being very hard on Dining this year. My SGA will come down on them hard on certain issues, and they will not get away with some of their asinine quirks. One thing that really ticked me off in the past was when they yelled at you for taking an apple out of the cafeteria. Well, I'm sorry--but when you pay $1800 for a meal plan, you should be able to roll in apples.
Speaking of meal plans, I have had a lively debate with Rick Dillon about this in the past week. He has brought out several interesting points as to why students "must" get a meal plan. For one, the dormitories are not equipped to prepare food. Another point Rick brought out is that if a great deal of food was allowed in the dormitories, cockroaches would invade. Cockroaches of course are an expensive, disgusting problem. It was hard for me to disagree with his points; however, they still did not persuade me as to why students must accept a plan with no choice. I told him that a student who wanted to save money could easily make a pop tart for breakfast, eat a ham sandwhich and a banana or something for lunch, and then go to the cafeteria or Subway for dinner if he/she chooses. I also told him that if the food preparation in the dormitories is so subpar, why not improve upon that? I feel that a student should have the option to fix a frozen pizza or fry a hamburger if that student so chooses. Basically, the college is arguing that because their facilities are so awful, you have to get this service. The only way a sick student can get out of the plan is if they practically waive all of their privacy by allowing a doctor to divulge this information to a group of people on a committee who are clearly not qualified to judge the severity of any medical condition. However, Rick does say that if the Dining Hall does not accomodate a student's needs, they want to know immediately (I.E. like the comment SGA Secretary Eric Lopez made as a comment to my last blog on facebook). This is going to be an interesting discussion over the next year, and even if I can't get them to change this policy, let's hope that we can at least build the way there by helping to improve dormitory food preparation facilities.
The second piece of news is that several administrators have transferred to new interim jobs. This hasn't been announced by Concord yet, but many people already know about it. Dr. John David Smith has been moved to Interim Vice President and Academic Dean. Marjie Flanigan from the Academic Success Office will take John David's role of Interim VP for Student Affairs, and Rick Dillon will be the interim Dean of Students (a job he has done at Concord in the past), as well as still be Housing Director. Based on what I have heard, Dr. Smith was promoted to Academic Dean without the consent of either the students or the faculty (this job really concerns the faculty more than the students. If the faculty was not consulted, then I am eager to see their reaction. However, I cannot verify for sure whether the faculty had no say). Flanigan and Dillon were also both promoted to heading over issues of John David's old job, and this definitely did not occur with the consent of the students by having a representative on a hiring committee. I am personally insulted by this--because it does not appear that the voice of the SGA truly matters to Dr. Aloia, and I am the President who has been seeking compromise. I am, however, not yet taking an official stance on this issue nor am I moving the SGA to do so either because I do not yet know all the details, and even when I do, I want to ask the SGA Executive Board to come up with a stance first. You will likely see a resolution about this in our first Senate meeting. Flanigan is a nice lady, and Rick, contrary to popular belief, does advocate for students. I cannot say that these were the right choices, nor can I say how could I be the judge of that when the administrators in charge of students did not allow any input from the SGA on these hires.
Furthermore, I have also received an update on the Student Center Director. I will not divulge a lot of personal details about the candidates--because I promised not to, but basically, both candidates are still in the running; however, certain issues exist for both of them as to why they might not be taking the job at this moment. The possibility may occur that the Hiring Committee might have to reconvene in order to find another candidate if it ends up that both Billy and Abe choose not to take the position. Either way, it's going to keep dragging on for a while.
The last update is that Dr. Aloia confirmed that the library opening longer will cost the students $2,000 in both the fall and spring semesters. I discussed this in Chris Slater's blog when the news first came out. I have my philosophy on this--I feel that it is one step back in order to make two steps forward. This is not a permanent fix; if it works and students show, the admin. is likely to keep it open permanently. Because the students are demanding, and because the admin. is looking to make a wise investment and not waste their money, it is a compromise between two opposing entities. The library will be open until midnight, Monday through Thursday, and it will be open from 12-6 on Saturday rather than 12-4. This is, of course, pending approval of the Student Senate the first meeting of the year, which I certainly hope to see.
I will be on campus for "University Point Press Day" on July 22. Greg Quick's Institutional Advancement Committee that I serve on will be in charge of this. The administration, President Boggess of the faculty, myself, and others will take a tour with the press of University Point that day. If anyone would like to see me that day and talk about issues, let me know. I will also go with Sean Noland that day probably to look at the Pavilion (the new name for the Gazebo) to check and see if the SGA could perhaps fit more tables for picnic room there.
Until next time,
President Yeager
It has just been a few days since I last blogged to you from the President's Desk, but the past few days have been some eventful ones at Concord. I have heard some news that I am going to share with you--news that will probably be confirmed on Monday (It was confirmed to me from various conversations with various people). I'm also going to give you an update on various projects that I have been looking into.
The first thing I will discuss--Dining. Before I officially became President, an ad hoc commitee was formed with me, Marshall Campbell, and Rick Dillon in an attempt to renegotiate the contract with Aramark. In this attempt, we have gained quite a few incentives for students (I have to hand it to both Marshall and Rick over myself on this one--it seemed as if I was only a mere participant during our meetings because they did most of the talking.) Here is what you will receive, starting this fall:
1. The Dining Hall will be open for dinner until 7 PM this fall, from Sunday through Thursday night. This will allow many more students to eat, and it will also allow students more flexibility who have athletics and night classes.
2. The Dining Hall will create a new station that will serve "ready to order" rice/noodles, proteins, and veggies. In other words, a student will select a starch, the meat/poultry, seafood, and then be stirfried before serving.
3. Dining is going to add $7.50 in flex dollars for both semesters. So, you will have $7.50 more on both the 12 meal and 7 meal plan in the fall, and an additional $7.50 in the spring.
When I served on this committee, one point I attempted to make was that if board money increases, students should likewise see a service given to them in return. The extra hour of dining and the other incentives are certainly a good start. As I mentioned, I plan on being very hard on Dining this year. My SGA will come down on them hard on certain issues, and they will not get away with some of their asinine quirks. One thing that really ticked me off in the past was when they yelled at you for taking an apple out of the cafeteria. Well, I'm sorry--but when you pay $1800 for a meal plan, you should be able to roll in apples.
Speaking of meal plans, I have had a lively debate with Rick Dillon about this in the past week. He has brought out several interesting points as to why students "must" get a meal plan. For one, the dormitories are not equipped to prepare food. Another point Rick brought out is that if a great deal of food was allowed in the dormitories, cockroaches would invade. Cockroaches of course are an expensive, disgusting problem. It was hard for me to disagree with his points; however, they still did not persuade me as to why students must accept a plan with no choice. I told him that a student who wanted to save money could easily make a pop tart for breakfast, eat a ham sandwhich and a banana or something for lunch, and then go to the cafeteria or Subway for dinner if he/she chooses. I also told him that if the food preparation in the dormitories is so subpar, why not improve upon that? I feel that a student should have the option to fix a frozen pizza or fry a hamburger if that student so chooses. Basically, the college is arguing that because their facilities are so awful, you have to get this service. The only way a sick student can get out of the plan is if they practically waive all of their privacy by allowing a doctor to divulge this information to a group of people on a committee who are clearly not qualified to judge the severity of any medical condition. However, Rick does say that if the Dining Hall does not accomodate a student's needs, they want to know immediately (I.E. like the comment SGA Secretary Eric Lopez made as a comment to my last blog on facebook). This is going to be an interesting discussion over the next year, and even if I can't get them to change this policy, let's hope that we can at least build the way there by helping to improve dormitory food preparation facilities.
The second piece of news is that several administrators have transferred to new interim jobs. This hasn't been announced by Concord yet, but many people already know about it. Dr. John David Smith has been moved to Interim Vice President and Academic Dean. Marjie Flanigan from the Academic Success Office will take John David's role of Interim VP for Student Affairs, and Rick Dillon will be the interim Dean of Students (a job he has done at Concord in the past), as well as still be Housing Director. Based on what I have heard, Dr. Smith was promoted to Academic Dean without the consent of either the students or the faculty (this job really concerns the faculty more than the students. If the faculty was not consulted, then I am eager to see their reaction. However, I cannot verify for sure whether the faculty had no say). Flanigan and Dillon were also both promoted to heading over issues of John David's old job, and this definitely did not occur with the consent of the students by having a representative on a hiring committee. I am personally insulted by this--because it does not appear that the voice of the SGA truly matters to Dr. Aloia, and I am the President who has been seeking compromise. I am, however, not yet taking an official stance on this issue nor am I moving the SGA to do so either because I do not yet know all the details, and even when I do, I want to ask the SGA Executive Board to come up with a stance first. You will likely see a resolution about this in our first Senate meeting. Flanigan is a nice lady, and Rick, contrary to popular belief, does advocate for students. I cannot say that these were the right choices, nor can I say how could I be the judge of that when the administrators in charge of students did not allow any input from the SGA on these hires.
Furthermore, I have also received an update on the Student Center Director. I will not divulge a lot of personal details about the candidates--because I promised not to, but basically, both candidates are still in the running; however, certain issues exist for both of them as to why they might not be taking the job at this moment. The possibility may occur that the Hiring Committee might have to reconvene in order to find another candidate if it ends up that both Billy and Abe choose not to take the position. Either way, it's going to keep dragging on for a while.
The last update is that Dr. Aloia confirmed that the library opening longer will cost the students $2,000 in both the fall and spring semesters. I discussed this in Chris Slater's blog when the news first came out. I have my philosophy on this--I feel that it is one step back in order to make two steps forward. This is not a permanent fix; if it works and students show, the admin. is likely to keep it open permanently. Because the students are demanding, and because the admin. is looking to make a wise investment and not waste their money, it is a compromise between two opposing entities. The library will be open until midnight, Monday through Thursday, and it will be open from 12-6 on Saturday rather than 12-4. This is, of course, pending approval of the Student Senate the first meeting of the year, which I certainly hope to see.
I will be on campus for "University Point Press Day" on July 22. Greg Quick's Institutional Advancement Committee that I serve on will be in charge of this. The administration, President Boggess of the faculty, myself, and others will take a tour with the press of University Point that day. If anyone would like to see me that day and talk about issues, let me know. I will also go with Sean Noland that day probably to look at the Pavilion (the new name for the Gazebo) to check and see if the SGA could perhaps fit more tables for picnic room there.
Until next time,
President Yeager
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
July Update: Student Center Director Update and Forced Meal Plans
Hello all,
I hope that everyone is enjoying a fantastic summer. Mine has been going fairly well, and as it progresses, I continually look forward to working for you in the fall. I am writing this blog to update you briefly on perhaps analyzing both of the potential choices for the Student Center Director position in the fall. I am also going to update you on my stumbling onto one of many of the university's problematic policies--its forcing on campus students to pay for a meal plan.
So everyone knows, I am continually studying to be an effective leader from the start this year. I have reviewed further over our Constitution and Bylaws (which still have not been updated--something that the President should not have to do but is going to have to do in order to have a good copy for the start of the fall), and I see many problems to hand over to the SGA Affairs committee this year. Likewise, I am studying Robert's Rules closely as well in order to be a competent chairman. We do not need our long Senate meetings (if I have anything to say about it, they will be long because we'll be doing a lot) dragged on even longer by questions over parliamentary procedure, just as it was last year.
With that said, I hope that I am not divulging too much information when I say that the Student Center Director, whose job duties monitor the Student Center, help SAC plan activities, is in charge of the community service committee, and whose job duties signifies that he/she be SGA Advisor (which is in direct conflict with our Constitution--which gives me the ability to appoint a staff advisor) has come down to two candidates. Billy Fraley and Abe Lilly, who both have histories with Housing as RD's, have both went to Dr. Aloia from the committee's consideration. The committee to select the director interviewed 3 people, and just from the way the committee was leaning (it is Dr. Aloia's ultimate decision--he can pick any of the 3 who applied), it will come down to either one of those 2 gentlemen. I was personally impressed with both interviews. Billy was my RD in Wooddell during my first two years. He is quite competent and capable. Abe of course RD's South Tower and has had conflicts with SGA in the past. He is though, of course, a very hands on kind of guy, which the Director should be. It will be interesting to see who Dr. Aloia chooses. I feel that both will be fine in the position, although I'm sure that both will handle the management duties of the Senate in different ways, coinciding alongside Dr. Brichford, who has agreed to be our faculty advisor again. I felt that all 3 people were certainly qualified who interviewed, hence the committee's inability to choose. It has almost been a month since I served on the committee as well, so I hope that the good resumes have Dr. Aloia scratching his head as well.
Another issue I want to talk about in this short blog is the Board plan. In my attempt to economize and shorten my budget for the fall, I have been inquiring about my ability to perhaps stay on campus (with lack of rental property available) and drop a meal plan. I found out that this was not possible, even with a letter from a doctor. When I spoke to one of the people in charge, he said that the cafeteria would try to "accomodate" your food needs, even if you have a condition (I have an endocrine system condition where if I do not get enough water and nutrients of a certain kind I can dehydrate quickly and have to be hospitalized). He mentioned that the cafeteria even made baked chicken for one kid all year. Considering that the board plan costs an arm and a leg, and considering that the food we get in return for the money is less than subpar (You could almost eat at Applebee's 5 days a week for what you are paying for this), I find this policy highly outrageous. Students should not have to pay for a plan if they have cheaper, better alternatives. Instead, Aramark and Concord have practically conspired to create a food monopoly of sorts on campus, where we are all forced like little children to adopt a meal plan. This is very problematic. It's no wonder that our food does not get any better, each and every year; they know that they pretty much have us by the throat. I am sure that 98% of students who stay on campus would choose to get a meal plan if a choice was enacted, but as your President, I feel that you should have a choice and that you should not have to pay for a service that you do not want. Because of my stumbling into this issue, this will be a new initiative for us to tackle in the fall--giving on campus students a choice. You should not have to be forced to pay for something you do not want; it is your basic right to at least have that fundamental choice. This is one of many dining issues that I want to address. The Dining Committee over the past few years has been very friendly to the administrators of Dining (to the point that the Executive Board last year attempted to fire the chairman of the committee). Under my presidency, I am going to encourage VP Akeya Carter Bozman to appoint a fiery personality to chair that committee. Being exploited by College Dining has got to stop. It is time that the SGA change its philosophy to dining, or else we will be eating cardboard and drinking oil (I think Aramark food is more expensive than a crude barrel) for breakfast. If need be, I will chair the committee myself.
Until I blog again, cheers to the students. I wish you all well, and I hope that you enjoy the rest of your summer.
President Yeager
I hope that everyone is enjoying a fantastic summer. Mine has been going fairly well, and as it progresses, I continually look forward to working for you in the fall. I am writing this blog to update you briefly on perhaps analyzing both of the potential choices for the Student Center Director position in the fall. I am also going to update you on my stumbling onto one of many of the university's problematic policies--its forcing on campus students to pay for a meal plan.
So everyone knows, I am continually studying to be an effective leader from the start this year. I have reviewed further over our Constitution and Bylaws (which still have not been updated--something that the President should not have to do but is going to have to do in order to have a good copy for the start of the fall), and I see many problems to hand over to the SGA Affairs committee this year. Likewise, I am studying Robert's Rules closely as well in order to be a competent chairman. We do not need our long Senate meetings (if I have anything to say about it, they will be long because we'll be doing a lot) dragged on even longer by questions over parliamentary procedure, just as it was last year.
With that said, I hope that I am not divulging too much information when I say that the Student Center Director, whose job duties monitor the Student Center, help SAC plan activities, is in charge of the community service committee, and whose job duties signifies that he/she be SGA Advisor (which is in direct conflict with our Constitution--which gives me the ability to appoint a staff advisor) has come down to two candidates. Billy Fraley and Abe Lilly, who both have histories with Housing as RD's, have both went to Dr. Aloia from the committee's consideration. The committee to select the director interviewed 3 people, and just from the way the committee was leaning (it is Dr. Aloia's ultimate decision--he can pick any of the 3 who applied), it will come down to either one of those 2 gentlemen. I was personally impressed with both interviews. Billy was my RD in Wooddell during my first two years. He is quite competent and capable. Abe of course RD's South Tower and has had conflicts with SGA in the past. He is though, of course, a very hands on kind of guy, which the Director should be. It will be interesting to see who Dr. Aloia chooses. I feel that both will be fine in the position, although I'm sure that both will handle the management duties of the Senate in different ways, coinciding alongside Dr. Brichford, who has agreed to be our faculty advisor again. I felt that all 3 people were certainly qualified who interviewed, hence the committee's inability to choose. It has almost been a month since I served on the committee as well, so I hope that the good resumes have Dr. Aloia scratching his head as well.
Another issue I want to talk about in this short blog is the Board plan. In my attempt to economize and shorten my budget for the fall, I have been inquiring about my ability to perhaps stay on campus (with lack of rental property available) and drop a meal plan. I found out that this was not possible, even with a letter from a doctor. When I spoke to one of the people in charge, he said that the cafeteria would try to "accomodate" your food needs, even if you have a condition (I have an endocrine system condition where if I do not get enough water and nutrients of a certain kind I can dehydrate quickly and have to be hospitalized). He mentioned that the cafeteria even made baked chicken for one kid all year. Considering that the board plan costs an arm and a leg, and considering that the food we get in return for the money is less than subpar (You could almost eat at Applebee's 5 days a week for what you are paying for this), I find this policy highly outrageous. Students should not have to pay for a plan if they have cheaper, better alternatives. Instead, Aramark and Concord have practically conspired to create a food monopoly of sorts on campus, where we are all forced like little children to adopt a meal plan. This is very problematic. It's no wonder that our food does not get any better, each and every year; they know that they pretty much have us by the throat. I am sure that 98% of students who stay on campus would choose to get a meal plan if a choice was enacted, but as your President, I feel that you should have a choice and that you should not have to pay for a service that you do not want. Because of my stumbling into this issue, this will be a new initiative for us to tackle in the fall--giving on campus students a choice. You should not have to be forced to pay for something you do not want; it is your basic right to at least have that fundamental choice. This is one of many dining issues that I want to address. The Dining Committee over the past few years has been very friendly to the administrators of Dining (to the point that the Executive Board last year attempted to fire the chairman of the committee). Under my presidency, I am going to encourage VP Akeya Carter Bozman to appoint a fiery personality to chair that committee. Being exploited by College Dining has got to stop. It is time that the SGA change its philosophy to dining, or else we will be eating cardboard and drinking oil (I think Aramark food is more expensive than a crude barrel) for breakfast. If need be, I will chair the committee myself.
Until I blog again, cheers to the students. I wish you all well, and I hope that you enjoy the rest of your summer.
President Yeager
Friday, June 12, 2009
Summer Update: Appointments, Committees, Plans, and Student Loan News
Hello all,
It has been a while since I have written to you from the President's Desk, but the Student Government at Concord University naturally slows down during the summer. As a matter of fact, I am the entire government during the summer, but considering that I am not on campus this summer, my actions are limited. I have asked Attorney General Lewis to look over day to day affairs in our government and report to me on anything that needs my attention. Besides that, I am continually planning for big things in the fall myself, and I hope to have a large agenda to show to the Executive Board during our planning stages for the fall before we go back to school.
Everyone knows that my administration thus far is going to be taking a small pay cut as well as pay half in keeping the library hours open longer, pending Senate approval. I look forward to seeing people be able to study longer and thus have more flexibility in the fall. By showing the administration that we will make use of our increased hours, we can persuade them to adopt a long term policy.
Besides the library issue, several new things have come up. As everyone knows, Marshall Campbell is now the Human Resources Director at Concord University. I applaud this selection of Dr. Aloia, for I feel that Marshall will do the job to the best of his ability, and he is undoubtedly the most qualified person for that position. Unfortunately, that leaves the SGA in a bit of a dilemma. It has traditionally been the role of the Student Center Director to be the SGA Staff Advisor. As a matter of fact, according to former President Noland, being an advisor to the SGA is a part of the job duties. Fortunately enough, I am going to be traveling to Concord whenever the hiring committee for the new Student Center Director takes place, and I will personally be a part of that university committee. I will make sure that I advocate for the person that I see fit. I am not yet sure who has applied, but I will be an effective voice for students. However, let it be known that I will not automatically select the Student Center Director for the staff advisor if I do not feel that that person might be the best fit for SGA. I have not yet spoken to Marshall about still being the staff advisor. We would all welcome him to return, but if he chooses not to, we have a dilemma on our hands. What I'm saying is that just because someone might be the Student Center Director might not mean that they be our official advisor. That person is likely to get the position, but if that person has known to have a bad record with SGA, I will be immensely skeptical in selecting that person. As a part of the job duties, the Student Center Director would have to advise the SGA, but that does not mean that that certain person would be the official advisor. With that said, I am also going to contact Dr. Brichford to see if he will represent the Faculty again, which I'm very sure that he will do.
Besides the Student Center Director committee, I am also serving on Coach Quick's Human Institutional Development advisory committee. During our initial meeting (we've had 1), most of the administration, the President of the Faculty, myself, and a few others discussed ways that the institution could work on obtaining funding so that it could avoid another tuition raise. There was not much of anything of interest for me to discuss beyond basic ways of reaching out to alumni and whatnot. I mentioned that it might be good for the committee to formulate a mission statement of what it hopes to achieve and then follow through with its plan. One possible thing that they might do is have high caliber weddings at University Point once it is completed. As a place to hold weddings, University Point could definitely rake in some cash for the University. Based on the committee, I, like Board Member Kearns, have complete confidence in Mr. Quick in this role. I think he is a very personable man who can communicate well with people. I believe that he will be very friendly with SGA, and it will undoubtedly be interesting to work with him during Higher Ed day this coming year (which will be an interesting thing for me to do as well, considering that I haven't even gotten to do that yet, considering my brother had a birthday during the last one).
Other things of minor interest--I have appointed Curtis Kearns and Vice President Bozman to serve on a summer university committee for Marshall Campbell to serve as student representatives in an advisory role similar to the one that I am serving on for Mr. Quick. I have also appointed Curtis to the Academic Dean search committee. Dr. Rowe is only in that job for an interim role, and Curtis will be looking for his permanent replacement. Considering that Curtis will be working with the Academic Dean in the future with policy, I thought he would be a great choice, and he will undoubtedly be our advocate behind closed doors. This is an example of a decision that I, the President, had to make during the summer while the Senate was not in session. Curtis will be confirmed for the full time role in the fall.
Judicial Reform planning is also getting underway. We managed to do a lot during the time that I chaired the committee last year as Attorney General. Several questions still loom over our Judicial Board though. We still have a few procedural issues we need to clear up. Full restrictions is still a faulty system of sanctions that cannot be enforced, and the community service plan we made last year has the ability to fall on its face from a lack of service opportunities if many people get sanctioned to it. We still need something else--we just have to decide what. There's a lot the committee still needs to do. During the first meeting of the year, I plan on re-starting this ad-hoc committee, and I will most likely appoint Attorney General Bill Lewis as the chair. Although Bill has not yet put his feet in Judicial waters, he will learn quickly, and I feel that he will be an effective moderator of debate, similar to the hands off approach that I took to leading the committee last year. As the President, I serve on all committees, so I will be advocating for more reform behind closed doors. Since I am no longer the Chair, I also look forward to putting more of my own ideas out there.
One last thing I wanted to make students aware of is loans. I know that many students have to take loans, especially with tuition raises and whatnot. Although I have had a full scholarship as an ALEF fellow, there is the possibility of even me losing my scholarship this year due to issues that have arisen within ALEF that I will not get into, despite the fact I have a great GPA, due to some issues that I won't discuss. With that being said, I have done some research on loans. If you are currently thinking of taking a loan for the fall, do NOT do it until after July. Interest rates are going down to an all time low due to things going on in Obama's stimulus. If you want to read for yourself, check out this link:
http://www.fastweb.com/financial-aid/articles/525-interest-rates-on-federal-education-loans-to-drop-july-1
One more thing--I have been asked to look into getting a boxing speed bag and a boxing bag for the fitness center. More news on that later--it completely slipped my mind until I went looking through some e-mails. I will contact the appropriate channels.
Until I have further news, cheers. I hope all Concordians have a good summer, and I look forward to working for you in the fall. Change and progress is coming soon, August 2009.
It has been a while since I have written to you from the President's Desk, but the Student Government at Concord University naturally slows down during the summer. As a matter of fact, I am the entire government during the summer, but considering that I am not on campus this summer, my actions are limited. I have asked Attorney General Lewis to look over day to day affairs in our government and report to me on anything that needs my attention. Besides that, I am continually planning for big things in the fall myself, and I hope to have a large agenda to show to the Executive Board during our planning stages for the fall before we go back to school.
Everyone knows that my administration thus far is going to be taking a small pay cut as well as pay half in keeping the library hours open longer, pending Senate approval. I look forward to seeing people be able to study longer and thus have more flexibility in the fall. By showing the administration that we will make use of our increased hours, we can persuade them to adopt a long term policy.
Besides the library issue, several new things have come up. As everyone knows, Marshall Campbell is now the Human Resources Director at Concord University. I applaud this selection of Dr. Aloia, for I feel that Marshall will do the job to the best of his ability, and he is undoubtedly the most qualified person for that position. Unfortunately, that leaves the SGA in a bit of a dilemma. It has traditionally been the role of the Student Center Director to be the SGA Staff Advisor. As a matter of fact, according to former President Noland, being an advisor to the SGA is a part of the job duties. Fortunately enough, I am going to be traveling to Concord whenever the hiring committee for the new Student Center Director takes place, and I will personally be a part of that university committee. I will make sure that I advocate for the person that I see fit. I am not yet sure who has applied, but I will be an effective voice for students. However, let it be known that I will not automatically select the Student Center Director for the staff advisor if I do not feel that that person might be the best fit for SGA. I have not yet spoken to Marshall about still being the staff advisor. We would all welcome him to return, but if he chooses not to, we have a dilemma on our hands. What I'm saying is that just because someone might be the Student Center Director might not mean that they be our official advisor. That person is likely to get the position, but if that person has known to have a bad record with SGA, I will be immensely skeptical in selecting that person. As a part of the job duties, the Student Center Director would have to advise the SGA, but that does not mean that that certain person would be the official advisor. With that said, I am also going to contact Dr. Brichford to see if he will represent the Faculty again, which I'm very sure that he will do.
Besides the Student Center Director committee, I am also serving on Coach Quick's Human Institutional Development advisory committee. During our initial meeting (we've had 1), most of the administration, the President of the Faculty, myself, and a few others discussed ways that the institution could work on obtaining funding so that it could avoid another tuition raise. There was not much of anything of interest for me to discuss beyond basic ways of reaching out to alumni and whatnot. I mentioned that it might be good for the committee to formulate a mission statement of what it hopes to achieve and then follow through with its plan. One possible thing that they might do is have high caliber weddings at University Point once it is completed. As a place to hold weddings, University Point could definitely rake in some cash for the University. Based on the committee, I, like Board Member Kearns, have complete confidence in Mr. Quick in this role. I think he is a very personable man who can communicate well with people. I believe that he will be very friendly with SGA, and it will undoubtedly be interesting to work with him during Higher Ed day this coming year (which will be an interesting thing for me to do as well, considering that I haven't even gotten to do that yet, considering my brother had a birthday during the last one).
Other things of minor interest--I have appointed Curtis Kearns and Vice President Bozman to serve on a summer university committee for Marshall Campbell to serve as student representatives in an advisory role similar to the one that I am serving on for Mr. Quick. I have also appointed Curtis to the Academic Dean search committee. Dr. Rowe is only in that job for an interim role, and Curtis will be looking for his permanent replacement. Considering that Curtis will be working with the Academic Dean in the future with policy, I thought he would be a great choice, and he will undoubtedly be our advocate behind closed doors. This is an example of a decision that I, the President, had to make during the summer while the Senate was not in session. Curtis will be confirmed for the full time role in the fall.
Judicial Reform planning is also getting underway. We managed to do a lot during the time that I chaired the committee last year as Attorney General. Several questions still loom over our Judicial Board though. We still have a few procedural issues we need to clear up. Full restrictions is still a faulty system of sanctions that cannot be enforced, and the community service plan we made last year has the ability to fall on its face from a lack of service opportunities if many people get sanctioned to it. We still need something else--we just have to decide what. There's a lot the committee still needs to do. During the first meeting of the year, I plan on re-starting this ad-hoc committee, and I will most likely appoint Attorney General Bill Lewis as the chair. Although Bill has not yet put his feet in Judicial waters, he will learn quickly, and I feel that he will be an effective moderator of debate, similar to the hands off approach that I took to leading the committee last year. As the President, I serve on all committees, so I will be advocating for more reform behind closed doors. Since I am no longer the Chair, I also look forward to putting more of my own ideas out there.
One last thing I wanted to make students aware of is loans. I know that many students have to take loans, especially with tuition raises and whatnot. Although I have had a full scholarship as an ALEF fellow, there is the possibility of even me losing my scholarship this year due to issues that have arisen within ALEF that I will not get into, despite the fact I have a great GPA, due to some issues that I won't discuss. With that being said, I have done some research on loans. If you are currently thinking of taking a loan for the fall, do NOT do it until after July. Interest rates are going down to an all time low due to things going on in Obama's stimulus. If you want to read for yourself, check out this link:
http://www.fastweb.com/financial-aid/articles/525-interest-rates-on-federal-education-loans-to-drop-july-1
One more thing--I have been asked to look into getting a boxing speed bag and a boxing bag for the fitness center. More news on that later--it completely slipped my mind until I went looking through some e-mails. I will contact the appropriate channels.
Until I have further news, cheers. I hope all Concordians have a good summer, and I look forward to working for you in the fall. Change and progress is coming soon, August 2009.
Monday, May 25, 2009
A Little Background History on your President...
Just in case some of you guys are unfamiliar with me, I wanted to list a few details about myself personally as well as my career in SGA. I was raised early in Oceana, WV, but my family moved to Pineville at an early age. I graduated from Wyoming East High School, and at Concord, I am majoring in English Literature and History with an Emphasis in Philosophy with a minor in Pre-Law with the hopes of going to law school. From my first day at Concord, I immediately loved the atmosphere of the campus but I instantly spotted things that were wrong. I loved the laid back atmosphere of the campus, and I respect how challenging Concord's academic programs are. Those programs have turned me not only into a better scholar but also into a better person. With that being said, it is not hard to recognize that the dorms are falling apart. The heating is archaic, and cooling is nonexistent. The hours to the cafeteria are not flexible with student schedules, and the food tastes like cardboard. The library closes at 10 PM, a time that many students (myself included usually, as I am a procrasinator) when students most need to use it. The rules in the disciplinary halls even felt a little like boot camp when I first arrived. With that being said, I decided to join the SGA in the fall of 2007 as a representative to the Honors Program under President Cook's administration.
As a representative, I oftentimes voted but it took me a while to speak my opinion. Early on, I was always a shy and withdrawn kind of guy, and this has always been a serious personality defect. Despite that, I did have a voice, and I casted several votes. By the time the spring rolled around, I became more involved. Curtis Kearns, the Vice-President, appointed me to the SGA Affairs committee, and I helped Josh Lawson work through bylaw reform. During that time, I ran several heated meetings that quite frankly scared me in how frank and outgoing they were, but I learned and it made me a better leader. During the course of the year, I always admired Attorney General Gillespie's work as she was the objective voice of the law in the dramatic SGA, so I ran for her job. After a rather lengthy election process with Chris Matheny, Rob Elsaid, and Zach Cox, I, a relatively new insider, was elected to the Attorney General.
I knew little then about what I was getting myself into. The Attorney General is a very difficult job. That person must be a balance between the always conflicting forces of Housing and students when he/she prosecutes cases through the student disciplinary process. It also fell on me to investigate and then attempt to impeach then President Prince for ethical issues relating to appointment processes. This was in my first semester in the job. As people conflicted and as political factions grew, I did my very best to stay objective as the AG. The AG is a job dedicated to internal workings within the SGA, and that impeachment did a lot of damage to the SGA's perception with students. Despite that, the Student Senate ordered it to happen, and I did my very best as the SGA's prosecutor. The Judicial Branch ultimately found President Prince not guilty as his ethical actions had nothing to do with the bylaws. When that sentence was struck, I realized that change needed to occur, and in the spring semester, I took on 3 different committee chairs. SGA Affairs again, SGA Ethics, and SGA Judicial Reform. Through the hard work of those committees, we built a way for a more effective, a more transparent, and a more ethical SGA. I realized that many problems exist with the SGA that I could not fix as Attorney General, so I then decided to run for President, and I am thankful that the students gave me a chance to do good for them.
As a leader, I realize that my record has several weaknesses. The SGA has always been more than about the SGA, and my record has mainly dealt with internal issues in the government. As your President, I realize through that experience that it is hard for the SGA to solve any external issues without first solving its inner problems. At the same time, I want to work to solve all kinds of problems that students are complaining to me about, whether it concerns the library, parking, food, dorms, etc. To do this, I plan on making a unified team. My government, unlike others, will work together, despite disagreement, to fix and mend the reputation of those in the past. We will not betray you by going on a trip to DC, for example (which I did not do when I was elected to the AG a year ago). Instead, my team is coming back a week early in order to start preparing for the fall. We are firing up our war room early in order to get stuff done. We will stand united. As a team, this will make us even more effective and credible when we go to bat with the administration.
Furthermore, a restoration of integrity will also be beneficial to getting things done. People like Dr. Aloia need to know that the leaders of the student body have credibility and credence when he negotiates with them. We have had leaders like that in the past, but their good will has oftentimes been compromised by those who have cared about the country club mentality. As your President, I will not let that attitude take hold. As a credible institution, we will have a greater voice when we negotiate over these issues. A broken and laughingstock government cannot accomplish anything.
The last issue I want to address about external issues is compromise. Students are suffering. As the SGA tries to get improvements made on campus with a long wait, they still need services. This is why I made the difficult decision for the students to help the administration to fund the library for an additional 2 hours a day this fall, which is my first accomplishment in office. I do not intend on this being a long term fix, but I needed to help those students who need that service in the short term. If that plan is approved, I will seek to find alternative ways to fund these projects beyond the compromise plan with Dr. Aloia, but this has to do for now. If we look to compromise at least in the short term, we can get notable improvements for the campus, show the administration that these improvements are noteworthy and valid, and then persuade the administration to adopt that improvement permanently. Considering that the college's budget is tight with the recession, it will take these kinds of policies in order to get long lasting change with some improvements, despite how unfortunate it might be to have to resort to such a method to help every student. As a force, the Student Government can bring change to this campus in this way. We will also do our best to insure that all of the technology in the dormitories is up to date, and we will NOT compromise on this agenda. Early on, I will make sure that this college is using all of its bandwith, which it is clearly not doing. Marshall Campbell, Rick Dillon, and I are also trying to negotiate with dining in order to get longer hours for the cafeteria. More to follow on that one.
I thus hope to make the SGA a legitimate force on campus for the future as well as bring many improvements to students at Concord University with my leadership team. As a person who has been an advocate for internal issues, I hope to steer the ship in the right direction while at the same time making sure that it reaches its destination (making student life better). This is a daunting task, but it is possible, and it must be done.
As a representative, I oftentimes voted but it took me a while to speak my opinion. Early on, I was always a shy and withdrawn kind of guy, and this has always been a serious personality defect. Despite that, I did have a voice, and I casted several votes. By the time the spring rolled around, I became more involved. Curtis Kearns, the Vice-President, appointed me to the SGA Affairs committee, and I helped Josh Lawson work through bylaw reform. During that time, I ran several heated meetings that quite frankly scared me in how frank and outgoing they were, but I learned and it made me a better leader. During the course of the year, I always admired Attorney General Gillespie's work as she was the objective voice of the law in the dramatic SGA, so I ran for her job. After a rather lengthy election process with Chris Matheny, Rob Elsaid, and Zach Cox, I, a relatively new insider, was elected to the Attorney General.
I knew little then about what I was getting myself into. The Attorney General is a very difficult job. That person must be a balance between the always conflicting forces of Housing and students when he/she prosecutes cases through the student disciplinary process. It also fell on me to investigate and then attempt to impeach then President Prince for ethical issues relating to appointment processes. This was in my first semester in the job. As people conflicted and as political factions grew, I did my very best to stay objective as the AG. The AG is a job dedicated to internal workings within the SGA, and that impeachment did a lot of damage to the SGA's perception with students. Despite that, the Student Senate ordered it to happen, and I did my very best as the SGA's prosecutor. The Judicial Branch ultimately found President Prince not guilty as his ethical actions had nothing to do with the bylaws. When that sentence was struck, I realized that change needed to occur, and in the spring semester, I took on 3 different committee chairs. SGA Affairs again, SGA Ethics, and SGA Judicial Reform. Through the hard work of those committees, we built a way for a more effective, a more transparent, and a more ethical SGA. I realized that many problems exist with the SGA that I could not fix as Attorney General, so I then decided to run for President, and I am thankful that the students gave me a chance to do good for them.
As a leader, I realize that my record has several weaknesses. The SGA has always been more than about the SGA, and my record has mainly dealt with internal issues in the government. As your President, I realize through that experience that it is hard for the SGA to solve any external issues without first solving its inner problems. At the same time, I want to work to solve all kinds of problems that students are complaining to me about, whether it concerns the library, parking, food, dorms, etc. To do this, I plan on making a unified team. My government, unlike others, will work together, despite disagreement, to fix and mend the reputation of those in the past. We will not betray you by going on a trip to DC, for example (which I did not do when I was elected to the AG a year ago). Instead, my team is coming back a week early in order to start preparing for the fall. We are firing up our war room early in order to get stuff done. We will stand united. As a team, this will make us even more effective and credible when we go to bat with the administration.
Furthermore, a restoration of integrity will also be beneficial to getting things done. People like Dr. Aloia need to know that the leaders of the student body have credibility and credence when he negotiates with them. We have had leaders like that in the past, but their good will has oftentimes been compromised by those who have cared about the country club mentality. As your President, I will not let that attitude take hold. As a credible institution, we will have a greater voice when we negotiate over these issues. A broken and laughingstock government cannot accomplish anything.
The last issue I want to address about external issues is compromise. Students are suffering. As the SGA tries to get improvements made on campus with a long wait, they still need services. This is why I made the difficult decision for the students to help the administration to fund the library for an additional 2 hours a day this fall, which is my first accomplishment in office. I do not intend on this being a long term fix, but I needed to help those students who need that service in the short term. If that plan is approved, I will seek to find alternative ways to fund these projects beyond the compromise plan with Dr. Aloia, but this has to do for now. If we look to compromise at least in the short term, we can get notable improvements for the campus, show the administration that these improvements are noteworthy and valid, and then persuade the administration to adopt that improvement permanently. Considering that the college's budget is tight with the recession, it will take these kinds of policies in order to get long lasting change with some improvements, despite how unfortunate it might be to have to resort to such a method to help every student. As a force, the Student Government can bring change to this campus in this way. We will also do our best to insure that all of the technology in the dormitories is up to date, and we will NOT compromise on this agenda. Early on, I will make sure that this college is using all of its bandwith, which it is clearly not doing. Marshall Campbell, Rick Dillon, and I are also trying to negotiate with dining in order to get longer hours for the cafeteria. More to follow on that one.
I thus hope to make the SGA a legitimate force on campus for the future as well as bring many improvements to students at Concord University with my leadership team. As a person who has been an advocate for internal issues, I hope to steer the ship in the right direction while at the same time making sure that it reaches its destination (making student life better). This is a daunting task, but it is possible, and it must be done.
My First Post
Hello all,
Just in case you do not know me, my name is Jeff Yeager, and I will be the President of the Concord University Student Government Association in the fall. If I would have thought that I would be saying those words a year ago, I would have thought that I was a bit crazy considering that I was aware of the stress of the job after watching President Cook's administration as a Senator, but here I am. Over the course of the past year, the Student Government Association has suffered several setbacks, and this is not entirely the past administration's fault. The previous administration (under which I served as Attorney General) was merely the victim of a faulty ideology that has plagued SGA over the past several years--that is, the infamous "Country Club". Instead of being an organization dedicated to helping the students, the Student Government has been mainly led by people focused on helping themselves or focused on helping a small group of people. Students have recognized this, and the fact that I, a person who has primarily been an advocate for progress over the past few years, was elected proves this point entirely. Change is coming.
I wanted to use my first post to tell how excited I am about the leadership team that has been elected by the students that are assembled as well as those whom I appointed to various posts in my first day in office. Vice President Akeya Carter Bozman has always been a solid advocate for the students. As a Senator and as the representative to the Board of Governors, she has always looked to what is best for students. Her passion and zeal will undoubtedly lead to great things as the Vice President as she plans Homecoming, Spring Fling, as well as making sure that all of our committees run effectively.
I am also excited about working with Business Manager Belcher. Although we oftentimes disagreed last year in the Senate over various issues, including when he got appointed to Vice President without the Senate's consent, I have developed a great deal of respect for Matt. He and I both agree that the rather hefty officer pay needs to be cut, and we have already polled all of the officers about cuts, and they are all fine with it. Considering that we may have made a few errors in evaluating those cuts, we will look at them again before the fall starts. I also plan on working with him closely to insure that the Budgetary Process this year runs a little bit more smoothly in the hope of not having a 8 to 9 hour long meeting.
Attorney General Lewis will undoubtedly give good insight in his role as AG. I believe that Bill realizes that the AG is a very powerful position in that it does more than prosecute cases. I know that Bill will do much more for reform than most in that role before him. I hope that he will help to revaluate Judicial Reform as well as further ethical reform. I'm also looking forward to seeing how he will bring his own unique fire and zeal to that role, especially considering one of the most boring guys on campus (points finger) held that job last year.
Board of Governors Representative Kearns will also do a great job as the Board rep. He and I have also not always agreed politically, but that has never stopped us from working together as a team. We will both work hard to insure that your tuition is not raised so highly this year, and we will make Dr. Aloia and the administration crunch numbers and we will make sure that this university is accountable for every dollar. As a team, we will both be a force to be reckoned with, pardon the cliche.
Secretary Lopez will also undoubtedly do well in his role. Based on what I have seen from him so far, he is very serious about his position, and I am sure that the Senate will tell a big difference in the efficiency of that job this year compared to last. He will also be a solid voice to the Executive. Gavin Ward has a solid knowledge of Parliamentary Procedure based on his time in SGA as well as his taking the course from Dr. Brichford. He will undoubtedly be an asset to me in helping to keep the Senate running efficiently. No one can say enough about Ombudsman Keys, who has done a magnificent job over the past few years. I look forward to working with her again.
With this team, the Yeager Administration WILL bring change to this campus for the greater good. We are a diverse group of people who have not always been on the same page, but I can promise you, we are all on that level now. With strong leadership, we hope to make the SGA a credible institution again by restoring its integrity to both the students and the administration so that we will be a completely legitimate voice on this campus. As your President, I pledge to be your advocate, your voice, and most importantly--a leader for the rest of the government to follow. As I lead this diverse team of smart, capable students who all are capable of great things together as a unified whole for the betterment of this campus, great things will come. To do this, I will always need your patience but at the same time this administration always needs constructive criticism as well in order to know what it is doing is right.
Just in case you do not know me, my name is Jeff Yeager, and I will be the President of the Concord University Student Government Association in the fall. If I would have thought that I would be saying those words a year ago, I would have thought that I was a bit crazy considering that I was aware of the stress of the job after watching President Cook's administration as a Senator, but here I am. Over the course of the past year, the Student Government Association has suffered several setbacks, and this is not entirely the past administration's fault. The previous administration (under which I served as Attorney General) was merely the victim of a faulty ideology that has plagued SGA over the past several years--that is, the infamous "Country Club". Instead of being an organization dedicated to helping the students, the Student Government has been mainly led by people focused on helping themselves or focused on helping a small group of people. Students have recognized this, and the fact that I, a person who has primarily been an advocate for progress over the past few years, was elected proves this point entirely. Change is coming.
I wanted to use my first post to tell how excited I am about the leadership team that has been elected by the students that are assembled as well as those whom I appointed to various posts in my first day in office. Vice President Akeya Carter Bozman has always been a solid advocate for the students. As a Senator and as the representative to the Board of Governors, she has always looked to what is best for students. Her passion and zeal will undoubtedly lead to great things as the Vice President as she plans Homecoming, Spring Fling, as well as making sure that all of our committees run effectively.
I am also excited about working with Business Manager Belcher. Although we oftentimes disagreed last year in the Senate over various issues, including when he got appointed to Vice President without the Senate's consent, I have developed a great deal of respect for Matt. He and I both agree that the rather hefty officer pay needs to be cut, and we have already polled all of the officers about cuts, and they are all fine with it. Considering that we may have made a few errors in evaluating those cuts, we will look at them again before the fall starts. I also plan on working with him closely to insure that the Budgetary Process this year runs a little bit more smoothly in the hope of not having a 8 to 9 hour long meeting.
Attorney General Lewis will undoubtedly give good insight in his role as AG. I believe that Bill realizes that the AG is a very powerful position in that it does more than prosecute cases. I know that Bill will do much more for reform than most in that role before him. I hope that he will help to revaluate Judicial Reform as well as further ethical reform. I'm also looking forward to seeing how he will bring his own unique fire and zeal to that role, especially considering one of the most boring guys on campus (points finger) held that job last year.
Board of Governors Representative Kearns will also do a great job as the Board rep. He and I have also not always agreed politically, but that has never stopped us from working together as a team. We will both work hard to insure that your tuition is not raised so highly this year, and we will make Dr. Aloia and the administration crunch numbers and we will make sure that this university is accountable for every dollar. As a team, we will both be a force to be reckoned with, pardon the cliche.
Secretary Lopez will also undoubtedly do well in his role. Based on what I have seen from him so far, he is very serious about his position, and I am sure that the Senate will tell a big difference in the efficiency of that job this year compared to last. He will also be a solid voice to the Executive. Gavin Ward has a solid knowledge of Parliamentary Procedure based on his time in SGA as well as his taking the course from Dr. Brichford. He will undoubtedly be an asset to me in helping to keep the Senate running efficiently. No one can say enough about Ombudsman Keys, who has done a magnificent job over the past few years. I look forward to working with her again.
With this team, the Yeager Administration WILL bring change to this campus for the greater good. We are a diverse group of people who have not always been on the same page, but I can promise you, we are all on that level now. With strong leadership, we hope to make the SGA a credible institution again by restoring its integrity to both the students and the administration so that we will be a completely legitimate voice on this campus. As your President, I pledge to be your advocate, your voice, and most importantly--a leader for the rest of the government to follow. As I lead this diverse team of smart, capable students who all are capable of great things together as a unified whole for the betterment of this campus, great things will come. To do this, I will always need your patience but at the same time this administration always needs constructive criticism as well in order to know what it is doing is right.
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