Student Government holds first town hall meeting

Savannah Joslin / IC

Maryam Jawaid, Staff Reporter

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The University of Toledo Student Government held its first town hall of the year on Nov. 15 to gain feedback from the students regarding their experiences on campus. The meeting invited students to come in, grab refreshments and voice their opinions about the topics under discussion. SG Vice President Cameron Forsythe moderated the event, focusing on issues such as advising, dining, parking and more.

“We have town halls because, for us, one of the most important things that we can do is gain student feedback and input,” Forsythe said, “because we are here to be the voice for students.”

One concern that was raised during the meeting was that of access to colored printers, which only engineering students have access to currently. According to SG President, Amal Mohamed, this is an issue that is being looked into and has already been discussed with Andrew Shu, UT provost.

Another important topic was advising, where students generally agreed on the need for more advisers, as well as resources that can help students plan their academic careers.

“There’s going to be a new degree audit next year for the new incoming freshmen, where you could plan out the rest of your college career,” said Mohamed. “So the degree audit is about to be revamped.”

According to Mohamed, dining is also an area that is constantly being worked on. Chick-fil-A and Steak ‘n Shake are two outlets that will soon be a part of on-campus dining and will hopefully be well received by students. Mohamed also mentioned the Student Government’s introduction of soft serve ice cream to South Dining Hall earlier this semester and expressed her hopes that students will make similar suggestions that can easily be implemented by Student Government for quick results.

“Basically, a lot of what we focused on were the small things that we can make school a little bit better: color printing, things with dining,” Mohamed said.

Another issue that is of concern to students is parking. Although the administration has been working on parking for a number of years, it remains a problem because of the lack of a sufficient number of spots to accommodate the growing student population. Mohamed said that Student Government is also currently working on ways to make parking easier for students, but long-term solutions remain elusive.

The town hall was conducted as an open discussion forum, and the students in attendance were encouraged to talk about matters outside of the prescribed topics. Students were allowed to fill out cards in which they could write down one thing they want to see done differently on campus.

“We certainly encourage anyone and everyone to attend the event, but beyond that we’re open to student feedback 100 percent of the time,” Forsythe said.

Mohamed encourages students to email her with feedback or suggestions at her address: [email protected].

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Student Government holds first town hall meeting