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Writer's pictureSophia Harris

Administrators listen to student concerns at forum


(Front) Robert Totino, Kim Dexter, Nancy Niemi, Joseph Cecchi, Dan Giard, and Kristen Porter-Utley at Administrator's Forum
Adrien Gobin / THE GATEPOST

Sophia Harris Editor-in-Chief Despite minimal student attendance at this year's Administrators’ Forum on Oct. 28, Student Government Association President Evelyn Campbell and Student Trustee Jeremy McDonald brought forth questions that were on students' minds. Some of the concerns they raised were questions students brought to them. In attendance were President Nancy Niemi; Iris Godes, vice president of enrollment; Lorretta Holloway, vice president of Student Success; Dan Giard, director of facilities; Michael Newmark, director of dining services; Joseph Cecchi, University police chief ; Robert Totino, vice president of administration, finance, and information technology; Ann McDonald, general counsel; Carey Egan, athletics deputy director; Stephanie Crane, associate director of residence life: Kim Dexter, assistant vice president of Human Resources; Meghan Larkin, assistant director of Orientation and Student Experience; and Kristen Porter-Utley, provost. Some of the concerns brought to the attention of the administrators were the allocation of meal swipes, extended library hours and the possibility of adding new majors. Student Trustee McDonald asked if there was a possibility of allocating meal swipes differently so student athletes could use their dinner swipe before the dinner period when they are usually in practice. Campbell agreed and added that every year since joining SGA, she has received questions about Sandella’s being opened on the weekend. Newmark said Dining Services is “currently working to bring a state-of-the-art hot vending machine to campus. … We're looking at the best location.” He added he wants to provide the best dining experience, so he will take the concerns into consideration. “This is all good information,” he said. Campbell asked how a student would request the University add a new major. She said a student came to her and asked if a neuroscience major could be offered at Framingham State. Porter-Utley said the next step would be contacting the chair of Biology. She said faculty are the ones who “really bring forward ideas, or I should say they implement the idea of a new major. “There's a lot of work to do behind the scenes to actually propose a new major, and most of that sits with a department or a faculty member,” she said. She added, “In terms of getting back to your student colleague, talking to the chair of a department is usually the best point of contact for an idea about a major or course of study that would be of interest to a student.” Trustee McDonald proposed that the Henry Whittemore lLibrary should be open later on Fridays. The current hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Senator Alix Ayoub said, “In my opinion, I feel like there are a lot of people, including myself, who would like being in the library [later] that just never saw it as an option or something that we wanted to express because it just didn't seem like such a big deal.” She said the library could possibly benefit from a survey to garner student interest. Porter-Utley said she will speak to Library Dean Millie Gonzalez. “There may be students … who want to access the library at hours that it's not currently open. I am certainly willing to talk to the dean of the library,” she said.

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