Concord students:
Our year is gradually progressing, and soon, my term as the President of the Student Government Association will be over. I find it hard to believe that the Election Committee is already beginning preparations for the next SGA election, but I am also glad in that soon, I will begin a new phase in my life by going to graduate school with the intent of going for a doctorate in English. I write this blog to inform you of recent developments in the Student Government Association, and I hope to take comments/criticisms about what issues currently concern students so that I can take those issues to a higher authority.
Here are some brief issues that I want to address:
1. The Student Government is progressing and is largely moving very smoothly. The CU Administration and I frequently have talks about student life, and I am largely pleased that the SGA and the administration are on good terms again. I am, however, largely displeased with the inefficiency of our committees and some of our Executive officers. Two or three people cannot carry all the weight of our entire government. After last week's "closed session", in which the whip was cracked, I hope to see better results over the coming months.
2. Tuition should not be a major concern for most students this year. The governor of West Virginia has requested all institutions of Higher Education in the state to adopt a 0% tuition increase. If tuition is raised at all (the University needs to keep the lights on and pay our faculty, after all), it will be a minimalistic raise. I sit on a committee dedicated to this year's tuition raises with BOG Representative Curtis Kearns, and hopefully we will have good news for you soon.
3. The library initiative that the SGA adopted earlier in the semester based on high demand is not being used. Considering that the SGA took great expense to earn this, please use the library after 10 PM, or else we will lose it. The library grant money that has been bonded is awaiting approval from the State, and if that passes, I will be working with Dr. Rowe on how hope to use the $6 million in there.
4. The Vice President received votes from the entire student body that advocates for a smaller Spring Fling as well as a good donation to the Haiti relief efforts. Pending approval of the Budgetary Committee and then the Student Senate, this should be the reality that occurs.
5. The Student Government gives its blessing to the new philosophy advocated by Dr. Aloia in being more lenient with inclement weather and school cancellations when necessary. Although we are all here to receive an education, it certainly is not worth anyone's life to struggle to get here.
6. As your President, I currently sit on the hiring committees to find the new Director of Advancement after Coach Quick took a job in Toronto. In the grand scheme of things, Advancement is a critical job that requires a suave, money-making person who will build the Foundation to give scholarships as well as gain the University money in other ways than tuition gains. I cannot overstate the importance of Financial Aid Director; we definitely need one who is both knowledgeable and one who is an advocate for students. BOG Rep Kearns is serving on the hiring committee to find the new Academic Dean, and I can only hope that they find the best person for the job from outside this University.
7. The SGA lobbied for money last Friday in Charleston during Higher Education today. Although most of our legislators are WVU and Marshall fanboys, we hope that we gained their attention as one of the leading institutions of West Virginia.
8. Internal reform continues to happen. Senator Travis McReynolds took over for me as Ethics Chair, and he looks to submit a Code of SGA Ethics to the Student Senate by the end of the year. One cannot forget the problems that SGA has had with Ethics in the past, so the importance of his work cannot be overstated. I decided to chair the Judicial Reform Committee again, and in the waning months, we look to improve University Hearing Board procedures, gain more effective sanctions, and improve the balance of powers in our government.
9. The SGA is now on Facebook, and we look to improve our Twitter coverage as well. Check it out. We hope to make these blogs a part of both of them to improve transparency in our government. Kudos to Publications Chair Senator McCoy for taking the initiative to do this for us.
Please use the opportunity to discuss with me on this blog what you expect the SGA to do, and the direction that you would like to see SGA go in. We are your advocates, but we cannot advocate without knowing your concerns.
Sincerely,
President Yeager
Friday, February 26, 2010
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Late October Updates
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
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, 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
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