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
Forget about the change machine. People can use a pop machine to get change, and it actually is much faster than the preexisting change machine in South Tower. Also, we have 2 banks in our bustling metropolis that are happy to give people $10 in quarters to lug around.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it's very cute that they made you guys wear hardhats. Is it true that our quaint little chapel's foundation split? That problem could have been avoided if it had been built on the level ground near the Bonner House...
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of problems, what about the little old ladies who will want to frequent the glorious "Mecca of the Mountains?" Isn't there a chance that a hurried student (or better yet, a teacher/administrator) could plow through one of them, causing us to lose a future donor to fund our next useless building? This problem too could have been avoided if the FLAT LAND near Bonner had been utilized.
Paul, they did not mention anything to us on the tour about the foundation of Uni. Point going haywire. But then again, that's not the type of thing they typically mention on a tour. I agree that the building might have been better placed near the Bonner House, but I suppose they wanted to make it the "center" of Concord per se in the midst of their redefinition of Concord. As fast as people typically drive on the road, it's definitely a concern that something might happen, even someone falling on the road over there. I also thought that your coining "Mecca in the Mountains" was quite amusing--well done.
ReplyDelete