On Nov. 27, Student Government held its bi-weekly town hall meeting to discuss possible Blackboard revisions, and the possibility of increasing the student activities fee for part-time students.
Concerning allocation requests, it was revealed at the meeting that there was $14,763 remaining for the rest of the school year. At Monday’s meeting, the International Geographical Honor Society requested $13,875.22 for a trip to Honolulu, Hawaii to send two students to an American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting that is being held on April 15-22, 2024.
After a back-and-forth conversation on why they should and shouldn’t pass this request, there was worry that if this was passed,the only way clubs would be able to put on events is through fundraising. The club members insisted that it was valuable for the students and they would represent Grand Rapids Community College.
The allocation was denied after a vote because of fear that there wouldn’t be any money left over for other clubs.
The conversation was moved to the campus activities fee and whether it should be raised for part-time students to $10.
For full-time students, the campus activities fee is $10, while for part-time students it is $5.
The idea was first brought up by President Alex Miranda at a recent Board of Trustees meeting.
The Student Government does not have the power to raise the fee level and will have to present their proposal to the administration before any changes are made.
Vice President Michael Zazzo wanted to make it clear that he does not support this idea, but if it were to be pushed that he wouldn’t have it be higher than $10.
“We are beginning to research the possibility of increasing the campus budget,” Zazzo said. “But we need student feedback to even push through with this and we’re in that introductory stage. This is something that isn’t even close to being considered, I am personally not a fan of increasing the campus activities fee.”
Students at the meeting were in agreement with possibly increasing the student activities fee citing fairness and to push students to be more active on campus.
The argument for the possible increase was that part-time students get the same access that full-time students get to activities.
Finally, special guest Amanda Kruzona, Director of Institutional Research on College Data Officer, came in to hear student feedback about the problems they have had with Blackboard.
There were many who claimed issues with Blackboard being too complicated to use, teachers not using it to its full potential, and students not being able to apply their preferred pronouns.
Kruzona said hearing student feedback at the meeting was very important.
“We’re embarking on choosing a software system that directly impacts our students,” Kruzona said. “So I think having student feedback and their opinions of what matters to them is going to be critical for us when we make our next decision.”
Zazzo was happy to see Kruzona at the meeting and the feedback they received.
“This has been in planning for a while and the Blackboard is changing. It’s either going to receive extensive updates based on student and faculty feedback or it’s going to be completely replaced,” Zazzo said. “Is it important? Yes, and is it worth our time to listen about these things as they are developing because if we don’t get an opportunity to get in on this, while it’s in early development, by the time it’s nearing the late stage of production things might change and (students) may not like it.”
The final bi-weekly meeting of the year will take place on Monday, Dec. 11 at Raleigh J. Finkelstein Hall room 108/109 from noon – 2 p.m.
