Immigration enforcement, food insecurity, campus structure and more were all questions and concerns pressed upon President Steve Perez and Associated Students President Tia Saunders in a special town hall event on Wednesday.
Held in the Bell Memorial Union, circular tables were filled with students and community members from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. The event, organized by Associated Students, began with a welcome from Perez and a kick-off right into students’ concerns gathered from various campus groups by Saunders and the Associated Students.
The Q&A based discussion remained civil, with students asking questions to be answered by Perez, Saunders or subject matter experts in attendance. The students were given no opportunity for follow-up questions.
Food insecurity was a recurring topic of discussion as community members who rely on EBT will be losing much of those benefits starting in November. Perez affirmed the university’s awareness of the issue and the steps that it’s taking to help ease the impact.
The Hungry Wildcat Food Pantry, which can be found in between the Marketplace and Student Services Center, will be increasing the amount of food offered. From Nov. 3 to Nov. 7, students who rely on EBT can receive one free meal from the dining hall.
The scope of the conversation narrowed down as students voiced questions about the status of protests on campus, the Reimagining of Academic Affairs and Meriam Library.
Meriam Library, which was brought into question following a leadership change from Former Interim Dean of the Library Patrick Newell to Cornick. Students requested transparency on the process.
Cornick informed the students that the university had launched a nationwide search for a new dean of the library, a process that could take about a year. In the meantime, the university has also launched an internal search for a new position called interim associate dean of the library, one that should be ready in January.
As progress is being made on the leadership of Meriam Library, students wanted to hear about the status of the reimagining initiative. Aaron Schwartz, former executive vice president for Associated Students, asked why a cost-saving initiative was put on pause that the university poured so much time and effort into, saying the university is “…kicking the can further down the line only dips us further into our reserves.”
Cornick responded that the university is moving forward with bits and pieces of the restructuring, it just isn’t “…doing a big, comprehensive restructuring.” Cornick offered examples of merging departments and looking for ways to streamline colleges.
The Orion will provide more in-depth reporting on the reimagining as information becomes available.
University officials also reported the development of a new affinity center for the neurodivergent community, increased support for transfer students, and a course auditor to help students through the financial aid process when enrolling for classes.
Chris Hutton can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected]
