17 senators discuss possible scholarships, campus issues

Scholarships for senators, student retention issues, and dining services were among a variety of issues 17 student senators and two Senate advisers—Mathew Brust and Kurt Kinbacher—discussed Saturday during an informal meeting in The Hub.
Student Trustee Coy Clark said he believes senators should get a scholarship. Senators said that if scholarships are part of the benefits, there will be more people to apply and there will be competition for positions.
Scholarships would also help fill up Senate quicker in the semester. Clark said he is only suggesting about $200 per senator.
Senate Vice President Karson Langley suggested senators earn points based on the events they go to during the semester and then a prize should be given to the senator with the most points at the Christmas party at the end of the semester.
Hurley said that she plans to do a monthly senator of the month and hang a poster up in the Student Senate office in the Student Center.
During a discussion with Charles Snare, vice president of academic affairs, to consider how Senate’s goals could match up with the Master Academic Plan, student retention was given much attention.
There was talk about making resources such as Project Strive, tutors, and counselors more available and known to struggling students. Those resources tend to have a stigma around them that might keep students from using them, so senators suggested making them more inviting.
Senators suggested that the alcohol awareness program freshmen are required to attend at the beginning of the semester is not productive.
CAB Chair Molly O’Connell suggested having a student panel at that program to give first-hand advice why it’s important to not drink and drive and to know individual limits.
An event was also suggested to give students the idea of how they would feel after a certain number of drinks based on height, weight, and age, among other things. This event would be like a mock-tail event with a club-feel.
Sen. Herschel Foster said that he knows students have had issues with their bills and financial aid.
Student Trustee Coy Clark said that he realized the payment is due on a Friday but the email about how much you owe doesn’t come until the day before, which drops a huge burden on people last second.
In other discussion, Sen. Mikayla Gallagher suggested making recycling pick-up mandatory for senators, and optional for other clubs or classes to pick a week to help.
Senators broke into their respective departments to discuss issues on campus. The Liberal Arts senators talked about issues with an attendance policy in some classes that is not allowing students credit for days missing, no matter the excuse.
B.E.A.M.S.S. senators spoke about animosity between students and professors in the science department.
There has also been issues because sometimes freshmen and sophomores in the science department have advisers who they won’t see until they are juniors or seniors in the department, which makes it hard for the students to go talk with their advisers.
There were questions about the library petition that went around toward the end of last year in regards of opening the library on Saturday. The petition was not done on a formal petition so it would have to be redone before it can be presented to the administration.
At large senators discussed ideas to improve attendance at various speakers on campus.
They then talked about improving dining services meal options on the weekends to try to keep students eating on campus.
There was also talk about having dining services open during breaks for students who don’t have other places to go during school breaks. Hurley said that she is working with Faculty Senate on that issue.
Senators mentioned that visitors have issues finding parking when coming to campus. One parking lot senators thought they could make a difference with is Edna parking. They could potentially help cover costs to repave and repaint that lot.
There is also an issue of the handicap doors not staying unlocked long enough after hours for the dorm buildings. Students are having issues scanning their cards then getting back to the handicap button before the door locks again.
Residence halls senators said the cable switch in the rooms is still confusing for students. And there have been issues with streaming devices. Sen. Michael Stuebe also said that Wi-Fi is still an issue.
Hurley passed out binders to each senator with his or her position and job description on the inside.
She wanted to remind senators that they are to represent all the student body, not just the school or residence hall constituents.
Hurley is also asking senators to meet with at least three students a week about the upcoming agenda and other issues Senate is working on.
Each week one senator from each department is to give an oral report at the Monday meeting.
Senators should now be receiving a tentative agenda by Wednesday each week and the final agenda by Friday.