The Student Senate meeting Thursday, Oct. 11 began with a special order regarding the upcoming Leffler Lecture. Director of the High Library Sarah Penniman and Executive Assistant to the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty Peggy Stauffer spoke to senators about the events surrounding the lecture and asked for input on how they might be improved.
One of the major events before the lecture is the Louella fashion show. Louella, founded by lecture speaker Ibtihaj Muhammad, focuses on providing stylish, modest clothing made in the United States of America.
The fashion show is Wednesday, Nov. 7 at 11 a.m. in the KAV. Students can email Stauffer (staufferp@etown.edu) to volunteer since various positions are needed from modelling to controlling the music.
During the student comments portion of the meeting, the apparent bee issue was brought up. Senators were told that facilities would look into it, but that work orders should be submitted if it is experienced by anyone again.
Another issue brought up was the concern that some handicap or reserved parking spaces are only labeled by the road paintings, lacking any form of signage, which can be an issue when parking at night due to low visibility. Assistant Director of Campus Security Dale Boyer assured senators that the issue would be looked into.
Administration reports followed the student comments, starting with Vice President for Student Life Dr. Celestino Limas. Limas announced that work will be done to the E-town Jays App and provided his list of what he would like to see. He then asked for student feedback on his visions and allowed senators to propose their ideas for the app.
Limas ended his report by providing an update on how his class for first-year parents is going. He told senators that he continues to get around 30 different contacts a week, whether it be a question or comment.
Boyer followed with Campus Security’s report. The blue light system near Brinser Field was accidentally cut during the construction occurring nearby on the tennis courts and the Bowers Center for Sports, Fitness and Well-being. Campus Security is currently waiting to replace the system until later in the construction timeline because the work being done could interfere again. Boyer also spoke on the possible parking lot near the tennis courts, which now appears to be certain. Senators were asked for their input on designating those parking spots, but no conclusions were made.
The Student Wellness Department was unable to send a representative to this meeting, but sent in their report instead.
They announced that their new staff counselor Heidi Kohr will begin in Counseling Services Monday, Oct. 29.
Director of International Students and Scholars Kristi Syrdahl gave the Center for Student Success’ report. Syrdahl spoke about Limas’ visit to the commuter house, which had a positive response from the commuters that attended.
She then provided senators with the statistics from this year’s Progress Survey results. Eighty percent of professors of level one and two classes sent out Early Warnings and Kudos, while 60 percent of all professors sent them out. Student Success hopes that those numbers will increase over time to a 100 percent turnout rate.
Executive Cabinet members then gave their reports. Senior Josh Baker, executive cabinet treasurer, announced that the travel fund has been released.
Junior Sarah Conway, executive cabinet clubs chair, reported that budget requests can now be made again, since the senate website is back up after not working the past few weeks.
Student Senate spent the majority of their time discussing possible concrete ideas. Concrete ideas are projects that Student Senate takes on to help make an impact on the campus community.
One past project was getting speakers for the Baugher Student Center patio. Senators brainstormed ideas for this year, which Executive Cabinet members will begin to research before Student Senate decides what to take on.
Senators then moved into committee and class updates. Senior Steph Hanus spoke on behalf of Academic Council to report the Entry-Level Doctoral Degree in Occupational Therapy approval from the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education. Hanus also announced that the English as a Second Language certification will now be offered through the state rather than exclusively through the College.
