JJB@CUH

On Friday, October 21, CSGA hosted the second town hall meeting within the past two semesters. The main purpose of the town hall meeting is for CSGA as the leading student organization on campus to hear what students at CUH have to say about issues ranging from academic affairs, to student welfare, to residential life. As I serve as the Vice-President of Internal Affairs on the executive board, I introduced the exec board to the crowd of roughly 50-60 students gathered in teh Loo center during the lunch hour and let each of the board members head a topic related to their area of responsibility on the board.

The Executive Board of CSGA is formed by the President, Executive Vice-President, VPs of Internal Affairs, Finance, Communication, and Programming, and the Chair of the House of Representatives. Each school year, the Executive board leads the CSGA in all aspects, and serves as the face and voice of the CSGA. Students at this past Town Hall Meeting raised concerns for the parking situation on campus, with an overall request that the system be a little more flexible for commuter students as far as parking passes, gate times, and ticket procedures. Student Commuter Senator Nathaniel Enriquez stated, “For commuters, things can always come up last minute. If one car breaks down or is inaccessible for a particular day, there’s no guarantee you can bring an alternative car to school temporarily without getting fined for not having a parking sticker.” Associate Dean of Students Allison Jerome stated that in the past there was more leniency with parking permits, but the University found overall too many people weren’t paying for the parking permits so they moved to registration-like stickers to go on back bumpers or windows of students’ cars. Many students still felt this was an issue that needs further attention, and the CSGA student Senate will be working on a way to make the parking situation a little more appealing to students.

Another hot topic among students was the Athletic event attendance, or lack thereof, that Chaminade seems to be gathering lately. The Town Hall took place just as Mens and Womens Soccer, Womens Volleyball, and The Co-ed Cross Country Teams were coming to an end in their seasons. Many students felt that there could have been much more done to get attendance at these sporting events, primarily the Soccer and Volleyball games that take place right on campus at St. Louis Field and in McCabe Gym. With the upcoming basketball season just about to begin, students are skeptical about attendance for the Winter/Spring games. Student and Resident Assistant Dyon Auguste felt strongly on this subject. “A lot of students feel there’s just no incentive to go. Make it more engaging, promote it, have events prior to the start time of games, involve the athletes themselves so they feel connected.” As with the rest of the meeting, the Exec board was busy taking notes and hearing all students’ complaints, questions, and concerns. Executive Vice-President Ryan Santos was busy on his iPad jotting down ideas to bring up to the Senate and tabulating a list of concerns for evaluation within the board. “As chair of the Senate and the Student Welfare Committee, it’s my job to ensure that you, the students, are getting the most out of Chaminade,” Santos described. “We pay to be here, we are privileged to spend our education at this beautiful campus, WE are Chaminade. Through events like these, you can let your voice be heard so that we as CSGA can address and serve your student needs.”
The 55 minutes allotted to the meeting came and went very fast, but even the short amount of time, a lot was said and heard. CSGA has been working over the past few weeks to address the concerns of students and come up with an effective plan for the Spring 2012 semester. Where there’s a will, there’s a way; the student’s have the will for an improved campus life, CSGA has the way.