If You Build It, Will They Come?

Stephen Chait, assistant vice chancellor of Administration and Finance, spoke at the last Student Senate meeting before spring break, giving a presentation on the Campus Center that is being built.

“The goal for this building is to consolidate Student Services,” Chait stated. “All of those activities, from registration, admissions, all the way through to the bookstore and the game room are now in this building.”

The Campus Center will also include an atrium, ATM machines, and a ballroom on the fourth floor. Structurally, the Campus Center will differ dramatically from the rest of the UMass Boston’s architecture – a “very transparent, easy to read, and bright building.” Chait also discussed the possibility of arranging times to provide walkthroughs of the building in groups of 10-12.

Vice President Tuan Pham said he felt the presentation was “necessary,” and it “cleared up some cobwebs.”

“However, I was a bit disappointed in Mr. Chait’s response and I hope that he will be more open and responsive to the dynamic needs of the student body,” he said. “Mr. Chait basically responded to one of my questions by saying that the planning for student clubs and centers was done over four years ago and I asked him if he felt the needs of students has changed since then and he basically said no. Surely, that is false.”

With the advent of the Campus Center, UMass Boston will be putting out a new contract for a food services vendor, which will provide food services on nearly every level. The University will also put out a new contract for a bookstore.

Things that will be moved to the Campus Center include:*Student clubs and centers*Student Life*The Student Senate office*The Game Room and the bookstore*The Registrar’s Office, Bursar’s Office, Admissions, etc.The Beacon Hill Fitness Center will not be moved to the Campus Center. There are no plans to include an Early Learning Center.

The Campus Center will also serve as the pickup/drop point for the shuttle buses after its completion next year.

You can learn more about the Campus Center from the UMB website: http://www.umb.edu/about_umb/campus_center.

Student Trustee Race Only Competitive Election

Three candidates have entered the race for student trustee for Fall 2003, while the many of the students running for Student Senate will be elected by default, due to a shortage of contenders.

Omar Bukhari, Fritz Hyppolite, and William Roach, all currently in the Student Senate, are cleared to run for student trustee, a position made more significant since next year the next UMass Boston student trustee will have a vote on the Board of Trustees.

Hoping to represent the College of Arts and Sciences in the Student Senate are Bukhari, Hyppolite, Roach, Reuben Urmeneta, and Sophia Wong, all of whom are running for re-election. Newcomers include Andre Lima, Nicole Motte, and Colleen O’Malley. Since there are eight candidates and fifteen open seats, all are expected to be elected by default.

Senators Tuan Pham, Raming Medina, and Bryan Smith are running for re-election in the College of Management, a race that includes newcomer Robert Nappier.

Senator Sada Haubourg is running for the College of Nursing, of which there are five available.

The College of Public and Community Service has Senator Jesse Solomon running for re-election, for which there are five seats available.

The Graduate Student Assembly has no candidates.

At the senate meeting held March 12, Joyce Morgan, Director of Student Life reminded everyone that elections will be held from April 8-10 and information tables will be open at the beginning of that week. Even though it’s past due to enter in nominations, students interested can still run as a write-in… though such candidates will also need to garner four percent of the census of their college. In the College of Arts and Sciences for example, this would amount to 400 votes.

The Strategic Planning Task Force To Invade Senate

Campus and Community Affairs Chair Fritz Hyppolite attended a Strategic Planning Council meeting and spoke with Peter Langer, associate provost and head of the Strategic Planning Task Force, about giving a presentation at the next Student Senate meeting.

The CCA is open to student input in improving communication on campus between the student body and the administration. The CCA is assisting Annemarie Lewis Kerwin, vice chancellor of Communication and Community Relations, in this regard.

A Funding Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

$23,682 was awarded for the seven club activities approved in the last Student Events and Organizations Committee meeting. This includes two events from the Women’s Center and one each from the Socialist Club, Haitian-American Society, A.C.M. Club, the Asian Center, and the Ski and Snowboarding Club.

The Student Senate approved a motion to give $720 to the Dance Department in order to send five students to a dance competition at Plymouth State College. The department turned to the Student Senate for assistance after exhausting all other options for funding. The event includes three days of workshops and does not fulfill any academic requirements.

Finally, after a month of Senate and Committee meetings, the Environmental Club was awarded $5,228 to support “Earth Week,” which will be held April 22-29. The goal is to “educate students about environmental sustainability, and to demonstrate student commitment to reducing waste and pollution,” stated Catherine Moroski, president of the Environmental Club. Events taking place during Earth Week include film series, a guest speaker, and distributing eco- tote bags to UMB students.

G. Dumcius contributed to this report.