CPCS Dean Controversy Makes The Papers

The resignation of Ismael Ramirez-Soto, dean of the College of Public and Community Service, continued to make the papers over the last two weeks, getting into the Campus Insider in The Boston Globe’s Sunday Education section, generating a column by Globe writer Adrian Walker, and even a news brief in the alternative Weekly Dig. The Mass Media broke the story the first week of school.

“This controversy comes at a bad time for the campus, which has seen the departure of at least nine black and Latino administrators since 2001,” writes Walker in his column. “[Provost Paul] Fonteyn notes that many left for more prestigious institutions and some of them have been replaced by other people of color. Still, the perception that the atmosphere at UMass-Boston leaves something to be desired is slowly taking hold.”

Walker also reported that the UMass president’s office has formed a task force as a result, called the Committee on Campus Climate, to look into matters of “racial concern.”

Student Senate Elects New Members

The Student Senate added and dropped several members to and from its roster at its second meeting of the year.

Elected to the senate by the senate through secret ballot, Todd Babbitt, Erica Mena, Susan Smith, and Rachel Wittman joined for the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) contingent. Babbitt and Wittman were on the senate last year. Babbitt, who was chair of the CCA, left due to “family reasons” last fall semester, and later accused the senate of not representing the students, a charge frequently thrown at the student government association.

Frank Carrabino and Fatmata Braima were elected to the College of Nursing, while Mark Lohan was elected to the College of Public and Community Service (CPCS). The College of Management’s group of Student Senators now includes Christina Navarro, Andrew Barnes, Heidi Parmenter, and Alina Vdovichenko.

CAS students Nicole Motte and Andre Lima, and College of Nursing student Sada Haubourg were kicked off due lack of attendance and non-participation in the summer orientation, according to a report by Vice President Frtiz Hyppolite.

ALANA Sweeps Amherst Elections

ALANA members grabbed 25 percent of UMass Amherst’s Student Government Association positions, with nearly all of their candidates winning in their area. The Office of African, Latino/a, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Native American Affairs (ALANA) had sponsored candidates in nearly all sections of UMass Amerhst, which is divided into Central, Northeast, and Southwest/South.

An estimated ten percent of the campus turned out to vote, according to the Daily Collegian, the student newspaper. “This is a very good one-day turnout,” SGA Speaker Jared Nokes told the Collegian. “We usually get more in the [SGA] presidential election [in the spring], but that’s over two days.” The heightened turnout is attributed to several ballot questions regarding ALANA and the eight seats it automatically gets every year. Students voted to keep the seats. The issue was a hot topic since Nokes, citing conflicts in the SGA’s constitution and bylaws, refused to recognize the seats, provoking heated outcry.