2008 Woodie Awards
SGA's claims against faculty representation lack logic
Issue date: 4/25/08 Section: Opinion
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According to Student Government Association Vice President of Financial Affairs Michael Combs, it is when it comes to representation on the Cooperative Activities Board.
Combs cited multiple reasons as to why he feels that faculty representation on the Co-Op Board must end.
In his handout, Combs includes the percentage of meetings attended by the four faculty members and administrative assistant.
The four APSCUF faculty members-Mark Chase, Joanne Leight, Itzi Meztli and Deb Hutchins-were all listed as having attended less than 55 percent of the Co-Op board meetings this school year, while Assistant Vice President of Finance Ed Hess was shown as attending less than 30 percent of meetings.
What the report fails to mention is that these percentages include attendance figures from all meetings, even those that were unscheduled or changed at the last minute.
Combs also says, "By virtue of a busy and different schedule, faculty and administrative members have a very difficult time with adjusting their schedule to put in extra time for SGA-related meetings."
That is a very logical reason, but the problem lies in the fact that on numerous occasions, SGA has changed the day and/or time of the meetings.
This alone is going to affect the faculty's attendance records. Unlike most students, faculty have families, papers to read and tests to grade.
They can't drop their lives on a dime to attend every SGA meeting.
That is why there are planned meetings, so that everyone on the board can pencil in time to attend.
Sending out an e-mail to announce that a meeting date or time has been changed a mere 24 hours in advance is not sufficient time for the faculty to plan accordingly.
Plus, holding a meeting at 9:30 p.m., when most of the faculty have gone home is a bit inconvenient, yet Combs' report never mentions a word of it.
Is there really a need to hold an SGA meeting at 9:30 at night?
In our opinion, it is a deliberate move to assure that faculty will not be in attendance.
Combs also cites faculty intimidation as another reason for removing them from the board. In his handout he states, "Students have a natural tendency to be intimidated by faculty members regardless of the setting."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Christiana
posted 4/25/08 @ 5:21 PM EST
I completely agree. I've attended a few of these meetings, and was extremely grateful to have the faculty members there, because the students didn't seem to fully understand the issues that were at stake. (Continued…)
fmr co-op board member
posted 4/28/08 @ 11:18 AM EST
IMO the faculty/staff members always added a sense of continuity on the board from year to year. W/ the student reps there is always a significant turnover. (Continued…)
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