By Alyssa Sanford
Web Editor
Matthew Bender, a professor of history at the College and co-chair of the Steering Committee, gave a presentation on improving the governance system on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at the Student Government general body meeting.
The Steering Committee, comprised of faculty, staff and students, is essentially “the hub of the governance system,” Bender said. Any inquiries that come through the Steering Committee are redirected to the appropriate council or committee on campus. However, the Steering Committee is also dedicated to periodically reevaluating the College’s governance system.
Bender asked general body members if they had any feedback about the governance system, as many SG members sit on a wide variety of committees to represent the needs of their constituents.
The four main committees that the Steering Committee oversees included the Committee on Academic Programs (CAP), the Committee on Strategic Planning and Priorities (CSPP), the Committee on Student and Campus Community (CSCC) and the Committee on Faculty Affairs (CFA). All of these committees represent different aspects of operations within the campus community. General body members raised concerns about some of the committees that they sit on, prompting Bender to note that the Steering Committee is dedicated to looking at ineffective committees and choosing to either “collapse” them or reassign their duties to other committees.
“If there are committees where they meet for no reason, we need to know that,” Bender said.
Later, President Casey Dowling updated the general body on a recent Town Gown meeting, in which representatives from the College meet with Ewing Township to discuss concerns within the community.
“A lot of complaints from the township are noise complaints,” Dowling said.
Dowling also addressed the street sign theft problem in Ewing, which Ewing representatives addressed during the Town Gown meeting. A campus-wide email from Chief of Police John Collins on Wednesday, Oct. 7, said “more than 100 street signs” were stolen from surrounding neighborhoods in Ewing. Campus Police offered an amnesty period for anyone with a stolen sign to return it to Campus Police without consequences.
“There are currently 46 missing street signs,” Dowling said, noting that many of the signs were returned as a result of the campuswide email, before urging general body members to tell their constituents to return the signs.
Dowling cited concerns that the missing signs might hinder emergency response efforts, particularly “if there’s an elderly person who needs an ambulance,” and emergency responders are unable to quickly locate the caller.
Dowling also announced a Fall Leadership Conference, set to take place on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Education Building, room 212. It is open to all students who are looking to improve their leadership skills.
Executive Vice President Javier Nicasio asked general body members to “rethink different ways to allocate the money for the Loop Bus to make the service more efficient.” Nicasio has been coordinating this effort with Amy Hecht, the College’s vice president of Student Affairs.
The senior class is co-sponsoring “Dining Out in Professional Style” with the Career Center. The event will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 4, from noon to 3 p.m. Students who register will learn how to use proper dining etiquette when eating out with potential employers.
Sophomore class President Kelsey Capestro advertised an educational event sponsored by the Class of 2018, which will be held in the Physics Building, room 101, on Wednesday, Nov. 11, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The class is “looking to get people who work at Amazon, Johnson & Johnson and Target” to join a panel discussion that will inform students of all majors how to interview for internships at these companies.
Senators from the School of Arts & Communication announced Open Studio Nights in the Arts and Interactive Multimedia Building, where any art students looking for studio time in the from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. are welcome to attend.
Arts & Communication senators are also looking to create an updated, archived list of clubs associated with the school so that they can be identified and reached more easily.
The School of Engineering is looking for donations for equipment for senior projects According to head senators, anyone who makes a donation exceeding $50 will receive a sticker or magnet from the school.
