MU’s recent Open House event for prospective students. MANHATTAN.EDU/COURTESY
Erioluwa Akin-Salami, Contributor
On Nov. 18, Manhattan University’s Senate held its second meeting of the semester, in which the primary topic discussed was students both on and off campus, including study abroad and foreign exchange students. Discussions were raised about past events, voting and future reforms within the senate.
The meeting encouraged discussion amongst the members on the need for more student representation in the organization, emphasizing that one of their main goals on campus is to be a voice for the students of MU. Recently, senate members voiced concerns when more than five of the seats set aside for students went unoccupied, with students not showing signs of interest to join.
“There are more than five vacant seats for students,” Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management Amir Masoumi said. “Students do not seem to be interested in joining the senate, but if you can tell students you see to join, it will help and is good for their resumes.”
Beginning next semester, the senate and student government will merge together in “The Senate x Student Government Association,” an initiative created by senior and Student Vice President of the O’Malley School of Business Andrew Berg, to amplify the voices of students on campus. The association will be used to prevent further miscommunication between the two vital organizations.
“The Senate x Student Government Association Act has successfully passed the vote,” Berg said. “It will be a voice to the students and my hope is that after I graduate, this is something that can evolve and go further.”
Senator Mehnaz Afridi, Ph.D., professor of religious studies, expressed her concerns with student representation.
“You know that I have supported this idea since you [Berg] brought it up,” Afridi said. “We’re already having trouble getting students to represent in the senate and we will all ideally like to see this happen, but where are we getting the representatives?”
On the topic of student’s engagement on campus, Kristell Lowe, vice president of Student Life, was excited to share the success of the events her department has hosted this semester.
“101 programs were held between August and October, and Student Engagement has hosted 315 events since the beginning of the semester up until Oct. 24,” Lowe said. “47 students went to the Jets game, 25 students went to see the Giants and students have told me that Manhattan Madness was a big success.”
Lowe went on to discuss students’ decreased use of the facilities and dining options in Kelly Commons and her desire to replace the recently closed down Starbucks with a healthy meal option to contrast the current options available there.
“This semester there has been reduced traffic in Kelly Commons, in fact, 80% of students’ meal swipes are used in Lockes,” Lowe said. “We are looking to add something new and it is most likely going to be a healthier option; probably an acai and smoothie bowls place.”
Masoumi continued the conversation to speak about the recent Open House that happened on Saturday, Nov. 15, saying that there was an exponential increase in satisfaction from both the students and staff by the outcome of the event.
“I believe that this Open House was the most successful yet,” Masoumi said. “I commend everyone who worked together to ensure the success of the event.”
Senator Ricardo Dello Buono, Executive Director of the Office of Global Engagement and Study Abroad, and professor of sociology at Manhattan University, explained that due to a lack of study abroad opportunities for engineering students, he’s left many with unanswered questions.
“These are the kinds of questions we get asked and while we invite them to take elective classes there is nothing for engineering students,” Dello Buono said. “We are trying to resolve the issue but many times we have [abroad] schools offering the same course, with the same textbook, but the credits do not transfer due to us…which can be frustrating.”
Buono shared with the senate a possible solution to this issue as MU looks into collaborating with two universities abroad.
“We make no promises but we are looking to solve this issue,” Dello Buono said. “We have plans to work with the University [Universidad] De La Salle in Columbia and University De La Salle Barcelona, credited for electrical engineering.”
The senate hopes to have more solutions by the next meeting.