[In these minutes: Discussion with Robert Jones, Student Alcohol Issues,
Coffman Update, Reports]
STUDENT SENATE CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE (SSCC)
MINUTESOCTOBER 4, 2001[These minutes reflect
discussion and debate at a committee of the University of Minnesota Senate or
Twin Cities Campus Assembly; none of the comments, conclusions, or actions
reported in these minutes represent the views of, nor are they binding on, the
Senate or Assembly, the Administration, or the Board of
Regents.]
PRESENT: Khaled Dajani (chair), Judy Berning, Ryan Brux,
Daniel Buechler, Nick Cecconi, Trevor Ewanochko, Shawn Lavelle, Kari Lindeman,
Matt McBlair, Rose Samuel, Jason Stingl.
REGRETS: Christina
Frazier, Ryan Osero, Matthew Wohlman.
GUESTS: Deb Cran, YeeLeng
Hang, Venora Hung, Robert Jones, Jeremiah Mason, Patrick Pederson.
1.
DISCUSSION WITH ROBERT JONES, VICE PRESIDENT FOR CAMPUS LIFERobert
Jones, Vice President for Campus Life, addressed the reorganization that is
taking place in his office. An initiative was started by three offices,
Multicultural and Academic Affairs, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education,
and Student Development, to determine how to best collaborate efforts to better
serve students.
From this strategic planning process, a new structure,
which was distributed, was proposed to reduce redundancy, better serve students,
and bring more units under the direction of the Vice President. One office is
such as Multicultural and Academic Affairs. Kathryn Brown has been serving as
the Interim Associate Vice Provost for the office since Rusty Barcelo left in
June. A search committee will be formed to appoint the position permanently. A
second office is the First Year Experience, whose Director is LeAnn Melin.
Another change is that June Nobbe is the new director of the Leadership Minor
Program. With her departure from the Campus Involvement Center, that office is
being restructured, to report to the Student Unions. Sally McCee has also been
hired to work with MnSCU on a coordinated education system.
He then noted
that the strategic planning process is going well. Six task forces were formed
to focus on specific areas, such as student satisfaction evaluations and links
with academics. The task force work should be done by the end of the year, with
reports and recommendations provided. Campus Life will then prioritize the
recommendations and fund the top initiatives up to $100,000. Before any funding
decisions are made, meetings will be held with students leaders to get their
opinions.
Q: In the Twin Cities, the students are paying for the
renovation of the student union, but at Crookston the state is being asked to
fund the renovation. Why?
A: There are two reasons. First, there are
too few students at Crookston to pay for the total cost. Second, Twin Cities
students have a tradition of paying for their union renovations. Even for the
Twin Cities, the budget gap is being paid by the administration.
Q: What
benefits are there for the coordinate campuses because of the
reorganization?
A: Multiculturalism is a system-wide issue, so each of
the campuses works together on this issue. The campuses also have a system-wide
fees process. Each campus, though, does have a separate student affairs office,
although there are biannual meetings of these units to share ideas and
initiatives.
Q: From the new Campus Life structure, it appears that it
will be hard for issues to reach the Vice President. How will this be
avoided?
A: Robert Jones noted that students can still talk with him, but
that other positions beneath him will know the fine details of programs and
processes. These positions will also help with funding issues for the
office.
2. STUDENT ALCOHOL ISSUESKhaled Dajani distributed
a Regents report on student alcohol issues. He noted that the report was
prepared after several students died last year from alcohol-related
complications. The report states that the University is doing a good job, but
notes that there are different reporting policies in place on the different
campuses.
Shawn Lavelle said that Duluth’s policy was changed this
summer to allow the administration to contact a student’s parents if the
student is under 21 years of age. He noted that the new policy is not being
advertised, although the administration can contact parents after the first time
the student is charged.
Robert Jones said that there are currently three
instances, for the Twin Cities, that permit the administration to contact
parents. One is if the student is still a financial dependent, second is if the
student agrees in writing, and third is if it is a life and death
situation.
At the Regents meeting, the question was asked why only Duluth
should notify parents. The Board appeared to be split on the decision, so they
asked for more research data. There is also no conclusive information that
parental notification alters a student’s actions.
Several students
noted that notification might deter students from seeking help.
Robert
Jones continued that there is no easy answer to this issue since parental
notification goes against the student development model that a student should be
treated as an adult. The Regents will need to make a decision on new policies,
although any policy is only aimed at on-campus students. Work will need to be
done in the community. One effort is a CD-ROM project on responsible alcohol
usage aimed at not making students feel penalized.
A student noted that
this new policy might encourage more off-campus drinking, leading to increased
drunk driving incidents.
Q: Can the University only notify if a student
is underage?
A: Technically, the University could still notify at any age
if the student violates the policy.
Q: Have there been any community
complaints?
A: The community feels that this is the University’s
problem and does not like to have the behavior pushed into their neighborhoods
when the University’s standards become stricter. The University is
working closely with city officials on several solutions.
Q: Is the
University considering alternate activities for students?
A: The
University would be planning events, but with Coffman closed there is no place
to hold events. Ultimately it is still up to each student to make a decision to
drink or not.
3. COFFMAN UPDATEJeremiah Mason, President
of the Coffman Board of Governors, said that the Coffman Renovation project was
approved last spring. The plans include additions, such as air conditioning, as
well as more accommodations for programs, and a 40,000 square foot
bookstore.
There have been several unforeseen problems, but the floor
plan will be locked in next week, at which time publicizing can be done, likely
through some road shows. Coffman is on schedule to open next fall.
He
then stated that one major problem has been in regards to the 430 seat theater.
When construction began, it was determined that a support column was in the
wrong place. Yudof has recommended that the ceiling be raised to fix the
problem.
Q: Have the unions considered prohibiting tobacco sales at the
unions?
A: The Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Committee has written a
letter to discontinue tobacco sales. The Board of Governors is considering the
proposal but there are several issues, such as a significant revenue loss and
taking away a student’s freedom of choice.
4.
REPORTSSTUDENT SENATE CHAIRMatthew Wohlman submitted the
following written report:
Financial Aid
We need to address the needs of
students in keeping financial aid competitive at the University to ensure that
we provide equal opportunity to all students and prospective students who wish
to attend this public university. With tuition rising, we need to find a
counter balance that will off set the rising costs to students. I will be
addressing the concerns of the students at the next SAC meeting which is
scheduled to be held on October 8, 2001.
Calculator Policy
Several
students have approached me with a concern regarding calculator use. While we
understand that this is a tool, there are some concerns that this contributes to
an unfair testing environment. We need to address this issue. I would ask that
this issue to investigated and addressed by a committee.
Capital
Improvement Committee
I need someone to represent the Student Senate on the
Capital Improvement Committee. I want to appoint an individual as soon as
possible. Please contact me if you are
interested.
GAPSATrevor Ewanochko reported that Richard
Pfutzenreuter gave the 6 year Capitol Plan and GAPSA voted against the USA Today
Readership Program.
REP TO REGENTSVenora Hung, Chair of the
Student Representatives to the Regents, said that she would like to promote more
communication between SSCC and the Student Representatives to the Regents.
Board agendas appear on the web prior to the meeting, and any students concerns
can be sent to Khaled or Venora at
studentrepresentatives@hotmail.com.
SCFPRose
Samuel said that the committee received a report on the 6 year Capitol Plan. A
presentation was also made on the Coffman bridges. The bridges were
unexpectedly closed, and the new plan is an expansive project to capture more
area and provide ADA access. It is expected that the new bridges will be in
place by the time that Coffman opens.
SCEPChris Frazier said
that the Teaching Award Selection Committee is looking at expanding its
membership, including student input, and identifying one person outside SCEP to
serve as the chair. A Civic Learning Subcommittee is also being formed. The
issue of student evaluations is being discussed, but it appears that peer
evaluations will be dealt with first. No matter which set of evaluations are
dealt with, a strong student representation will be needed.
A member said
that students in the college of Dentistry are considering developing their own
questions since students are having problems with some of the same professors,
but access to the University evaluations is an issue.
Chris Frazier
concluded that SCEP has approved a requirement for all classes to have a
syllabi. The policy though, does not stipulate that anything needs to appear on
the syllabi since faculty felt that a lengthier policy would prohibit their
freedom.
SCSAJason Stingl noted that last year’s
lighting issue will be turned over to the Subcommittee on Twin Cities Facilities
and Support Services and an off-campus resource guide will be handed to MSA.
Student interest surveys are being discussed in regards to: a CSOM subcommittee
on surveys, web-based results, ways to inform students, and creating a
repository for questions and answers.
ABTSKari Lindeman said
that the ABTS meeting is this weekend. 65-70 representatives from the Bog Ten
will be attending the conference.
With no further business, Khaled Dajani
thanked everyone for attending and adjourned the meeting.
Becky
Hippert
University Senate