Third President's forum of semester uneventful

March 19, 2007 —

President Gilbertson held his monthly open forum last Wednesday to hear student concerns and complaints. Due to weak attendance, he had to answer very few of these.

The attending faculty members from various departments, including the University Police and Dining Services, outnumbered the four students that attended the forum.

Becky Griffin, a member of the legislative committee in Student Association, started the forum by pointing to a poll conducted by SA. The poll asked students what changes they would like to see on campus.

According to Griffin, one recurring concern was that the New York Times is "getting snapped up" before students can read it. The newspaper is available daily at many locations around campus, and is offered to SVSU students and staff free of charge

"I love to see students walking to campus with the news," Gilbertson responded. "I would love to have more students read the New York Times." He went on to say that he thought that part of the problem might not be the number of papers, but their distribution around campus.

When no further concerns came forward, Gilbertson pointed out the Alumni Lounge windows at the construction site of the new Pioneer Hall.

"It's just about finished," Gilbertson proudly noted. "We expect it to be ready by mid-summer...it has a better look, and fits the look of the rest of the campus."

Gilbertson also commented on the campus' other large-scale building project, the townhomes near University Village West. The buildings are scheduled to be operational for the Fall 2007 semester, and already have students assigned to the rooms for that semester. Gilbertson noted that the new housing is very timely, as freshmen applications to SVSU have risen eight percent.

At Gilbertson's request, Andy Suszek and Chelsea Robl, both from SA, gave an overview of the association's current projects on campus. Among the projects is the student "Yellow Pages," a "Dive-In Movie" at the Ryder pool, and the Relay for Life. Elections for SA and other student organizations are also quickly approaching.

Andy Suszek, current President of SA, playfully inquired about the "orangey" color of SVSU's marquee on the corner of Bay and Pierce. Laughing, Gilbertson said that he had no idea.

"I get blamed for everything around here, but I don't sign everything." But he admitted that the new sign had to be better than the previous one, commenting, "A change was definitely due."

Gilbertson saw the fact that there were few complaints expressed by student or faculty at the forum as a good sign, saying, "Things are good at the Valley."