Student Affairs
Minutes
 

Date:                      September 13, 2004

Present:                 Matthew Brady, Jim Bowen, Claire Davis, Randy Eriksen, Michelle Sotka, and Mary Oatman Wak Wak

Matt requested input from the group regarding the appointment of a secretary.  It was determined that the secretary function would rotate among committee members each meeting.

Matt asked that committee members review and approve the final minutes from the February 18, 2004 meeting.  Approval of these minutes was moved by Randy and seconded by Mary.  The group unanimously approved the minutes from the last meeting of the previous year.  Jim and Mary noted that a subsequent meeting was held on March 10, 2004; however, minutes were not kept at that meeting.  Topics discussed at the March 10, 2004 meeting included progress on traffic safety and diversity issues which the committee plans to readdress in our current meeting.

Traffic Safety:

                The two primary concerns related to this issue are 1) parking near street corners and 2) the addition of new crosswalks.  Matt discussed the situation with vehicles parked very close to street corners around campus which is impairing the vision of drivers as they attempt to see around the street corners.  Matt noted that the City is attempting to address this issue through more strict enforcement of marked “no parking areas” from the street corner.  Mary discussed the current status of the addition of new crosswalks.  Based on discussion with Mike McCrary with the City of Lewiston, the plan is that the City will lay crosswalks where they previously existed; however, they currently do not have plans to add additional crosswalks in noted problem areas.  Mary stated that the timing of this project is subject to the weather.  It is believed that this project will be completed in the next month.  Mary has also been in contact with Lloyd Pierce from the City to discuss the addition of new crosswalks in problem areas.  This is an active issue that may require approval from the zoning committee of the City.  Mary will continue to follow-up with this item and update our committee.    

Diversity and Gender Issues:

A discussion between Matt, Jim, and Mary shed light on an incident of miscommunication that occurred in the dorms last year which prompted the committee to focus on “Quality of Campus Life Issues”.  Within this broad category, our committee determined that it would be beneficial to look at LCSC’s current diversity plan and revamp it if necessary.  As well, Matt asked the group if there may be a need for a “Minority Affairs Committee”.  The group agreed that such a committee may be beneficial to address diversity issues.  Matt will follow-up with Tony Fernandez on this topic.  Mary suggested that LCSC’s new student orientation program (SD 107) include training in diversity and gender issues.  This will be communicated to Andy Hanson in our next meeting. 

New Business:

The committee asked Mary for input on any new issues from LCSC students.  Mary noted two new issues: 1) the mandatory posting of syllabi by faculty two weeks prior to the commencement of classes, and 2) the current campus parking situation.  With regard to the first issue, Mary suggested that the primary concern of students was obtaining advance notice on the required textbooks for semester courses.  It was the general consensus of the faculty present that students could readily obtain textbook information from the LCSC bookstore two weeks prior to the commencement of classes.  Randy will follow-up with the LCSC bookstore manager to request an on-line listing of textbooks for all semester courses to be available no less than two weeks before the start of classes.  Regarding the issue of parking, Mary noted that at a roundtable discussion from the previous week, Dene Thomas stated that a parking garage is not in LCSC’s future plans.  It was further noted, however, that once construction is complete and all parking areas are free of construction equipment, LCSC will end up with more parking space than was available prior to construction. 

Jim requested the inclusion of two additional topics of new business:  1) Term limits on participation in the Student Affairs committee, and 2) LCSC’s policy regarding drinking on student trips.  Based on discussion between Matt and Claire, it was determined that a term limit does not exist for participation by faculty on the Student Affairs Committee.  As for the issue of student drinking on student related trips or conferences, this is an issue that the committee feels requires significant additional follow-up.  Jim will e-mail Matt with all information that he has researched on this topic to-date.  The committee will discuss this topic in greater detail during future meetings.   

No other discussion was held and the meeting adjourned at 5:20 p.m.  The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 27, 2004 at the SUB, Room 143 at  4:30 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Michelle Sotka