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April 16, 2008
By Armando Vega
Staff Writer
Sunday’s SGA meeting was an eventful one. While typical meetings run a little over an hour in length, it ran for nearly two and a half hours, and at times vigorous debate and questioning ensued.
Cynthia Thompson started things off with a reminder of Tuesday’s SGA Candidate’s Forum, taking place at the Food Emporium from 4:30-6:00 p.m., after which President Bob Skorczewski deemed Wednesday’s Lobby Day a success and announced that the ISA would be holding its statewide meeting here at UIS on the 26th.
Treasurer Ashwin Prashanth then addressed the assembly on Friday’s upcoming International Block Party, taking place from 5-8:30pm at the Student Life Plaza. This is something the campus, through Student Affairs and a plethora of diverse organizations, is looking to sponsor on a yearly basis, and this year the emphasis will be on Latin-American culture, with free food and dancing lessons for attendees.
A resolution for the Review of Student Fee-Related Budgets was then discussed, with the purpose of “collecting information pertaining to budget cuts, student fee allocations, and planned operations of all departments” for FY 2008.
The key topic of the night centered on discussion of the Center for First Year Programs. Addressing the SGA, Dr. Marya Leatherwood presented a sample survey of UIS students ripe with interesting implications for enrollment and retention on our campus. When asked “How did you know about the colleges on your ‘short list,’” 42.4% of students responded that they had always known about them. Dr. Leatherwood made note that, unfortunately, to many prospective Illinois college students, UIS is simply unheard of, and our college has often served instead as a “convenient” choice for area-residents. A staggering 76.3% of respondents, when asked how well known UIS is known in their high school/hometown, replied “Not known at all” or “Not very well known.”
Cost was the primary motivator for attendance to UIS in lieu of other colleges, according to the survey, but the issue of retention seemed concerning according to survey results: nearly a third of students surveyed responded affirmatively to considering transferring from our school prior to graduation.
It seems that anytime the issue of retention comes up, unavoidably one should look at the quality of the educational experience being made available to students. The purview of the Center for First Year Programs is directed more at freshman-to-college orientation programs, but perhaps some other office could conduct a follow up study asking why those students who do transfer decide to do so. Often it’s a matter of the student having decided beforehand on transferring after a couple years here, but even so there are otherwise a few valid reasons to consider doing so the university has not yet addressed. For example, many students have complained that the academic advising on this campus is insufficient, seeming distant, detached, and disinterested.
The issue of the forthcoming new Diversity Center was then brought up, the office of which will replace and expand upon the office of Multicultural Student Affairs, which will be incorporated into the Center along with the appropriate student organizations. Student Affairs is currently in the process of seeking out an Executive Director for the Center. Students interested in attaining greater multicultural awareness in the interim may consider applying for housing in Founder’s Hall in the new HOME (Housing Offers Multicultural Experiences) wing, designed to facilitate interaction between students of different backgrounds.
Finally the council took up initial readings of two resolutions that were shown to be somewhat controversial, as the discussions became somewhat intense, at least compared to usual SGA proceedings. The Resolution Supporting Gender-Blind Housing at UIS drew much interest, though some felt questioned the necessity of the program. The Resolution Regarding Capital Scholar Roommate Selection similarly ignited a healthy Q&A session between the resolution’s sponsor Matt Van Vossen, Senator of Public Affairs and Administration, and Resident Director Ryan Prosser. Matt advocated for freedom for honor’s students in bunking with traditional track students, and Prosser retorted that the Cap Scholars program necessitates honors students rooming with one another.
SGA concluded the night with a $400 grant to complete funding for the Take Back the Night Event hosted by the Women’s Issues Caucus and other groups.
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