This week's stories:
SGA passes parking plan
By:Holly McIntyre
The Student Government Association passed a parking proposal at its meeting Monday to restrict freshmen parking and allow only commuters and upperclassmen to park in the Shay/Loughlen halls lot. SGA voted to re-charter the Gold Bar Club and the Student Athlete Association and Senators also discussed chartering the College Democrats. SGA tabled the parking proposal to enforce the university policy that limits freshmen parking to the lot by the track at its last meeting. Senators asked that Brittany McVicker, SGA president, find out the number of freshmen driving and the number of spots available in that lot before voting. Molly Cavalier, SGA vice president, said she counted 148 parking spots in the lot by the track, not including the unmarked spaces on the sides. She said security told her 122 freshmen have parking permits, adding this allows space for other residents who might need to park there. Cavalier said there should also be enough space to accommodate a larger freshman class next year. The policy, which the university enacted in 1998 but stopped enforcing, should allow commuters and other residents to park in the lot behind Shay/Loughlen halls. Cavalier said she hopes the policy can be enforced in the Fall 2003 semester. Freshmen should be given different parking permits than other students. For example, when the policy first went into effect, freshmen had holes punched in their permits, Cavalier said. The proposal passed unanimously with two senators abstaining. In other business, SGA voted to re-charter the Gold Bar Club, with nine abstentions. This means it receives SGAıs recognition as a club and funding from student government. SGAıs membership committee originally recommended not re-chartering the club because it limited membership to ROTC members. The club resubmitted its constitution, which now allows any St. Bonaventure student to join. Saunsanie Ramos, president of the Gold Bar Club, said the club has 120 active members, currently all ROTC members. She said the club plans social events for its members, like the military ball, as well as community service. SGA also voted to re-charter the Student Athlete Association, another club originally not slated for re-chartering because it restricted membership to people within the athletic department. The club reworked its charter to allow any student. SAA does community service and sponsors events to benefit the St. Bonaventure and surrounding communities, according to Mike Curran, president of SAA. The re-chartering vote passed unanimously with five abstentions. SGA then discussed a possible charter for the recently formed College Democrats. SGA plans to vote on the charter at its next meeting, 7 p.m. Jan. 13 in the Dresser Auditorium in the Murphy Professional Building. Senior Jeff Folck, president pro-tem, said, ³The club used to exist here until it faded away a few years ago.² The clubıs mission statement says that it should promote a better America and be dedicated to democratic ideals, but open to any student, regardless of party affiliation, Folck said. Sophomore Brian Fitzsimmons, president of the class of 2005, and communication director for the College Democrats, said there has been a lot of interest in the club and officers have been elected. He said Michael Chiarello, dean of Clare College, plans to serve as adviser, sophomore Senneca Stone as president, and sophomore Tom Chew as vice president.
By:Jim Miller
The university has announced plans for a permanent program to encourage service and vocation among students, funded by a five-year, $2 million grant received Nov. 22 from the Lilly Endowment. According to the successful grant application submitted to the endowment on Aug. 26, The Journey Program and Center should be established next year. The programıs ³overreaching purpose,² according to the application, is ³to equip students, along with faculty and staff, to integrate faith into their career choices and service commitments.² Sophomore Renee Willey, who served on the committee that developed the application, said she hopes the center ³makes people more aware of vocation.² ³A lot of people donıt know what it means,² she said. Willey defined vocation as ³a calling² to whatever one does in life and how one uses that calling to help others. Skip Saal, vice president for academic affairs, said the program and center will be designed ³to help students see whatever career and life goals they have for themselves as a form of vocation.² Robert J. Wickenheiser, university president, said in a written statement that the grant ³offers a very special opportunity to build on the twin pillars of a Bonaventure education: academic excellence and the Franciscan nature of the university. Intertwining the value of service ever more deeply into our curriculum can only enhance what is already a Bonaventure tradition.² The center will be run by a director working under Saal according to the application. Saal said he hopes to have a director in place by late spring or early summer. Janine Fodor, an attorney who has served as an adjunct faculty member, is serving as interim director. The centerıs planned programs fall into three areas: discovering vocation, exploring ministry and changing campus culture, according to the application. Possible curriculum changes listed in the grant application include adding segments on vocation to CLAR 101, the Intellectual Journey; CLAR 401, University Forum; and University 101. Plans also exist for two new courses, University 401 and Theology of Work. A ³ministry exploration² section of University 101 is also planned, along with a ministry exploration course, a women in church course and the offering of a certificate of religious education, according to the proposal. Such curriculum changes would need approval from the faulty senate and curriculum committees. Chapels or meditation rooms should be built in all residence halls and townhouses, according to the application. George Solan, vice president for student life, assured the committee submitting the grant application that space for these is available. Annual subgrants of $50,000 will be available beginning in 2004, with $25,000 awarded next year. According to the application, they will be awarded to ³faculty, staff and student initiatives related to vocation.² Christopher Stanley, associate professor of theology and chair of the committee which developed the grant application, said he hopes these grants will help the universityıs 17 student service groups to ³realize some of their dreams.² Fifty-four percent of the grant money, or $1,088,996, is slated to pay the salary of the director and other center personnel, including an associate director, a part time faculty liaison and student interns, through 2007. The rest of the grant money is slated to pay the administrative costs of the center ($85,396); the cost of centerıs equipment ($10,000); travel expenses ($129,619); consultants ($36,000); costs of seminars, retreats and meetings ($196,728); and other costs, including grants ($270,000), all through 2007. The university is seeking to raise an endowment to fund the center in subsequent years. To help students discover vocations, the application calls for the center to conduct faith discussion groups, a guest preacher series of six preachers per year and service learning courses and internships. Willey said the major impact on students may come through these internships. Stanley said such internships, at churches and non-profit organizations, should be available to all majors. The Journey Center will not be ²just for people considering careers in church ministry,² he said. Boosting studentsı church attendance, both on and off campus, will be another goal of the center, according to the application. It should work with local congregations—Catholic and non-Catholic—to provide transportation to local Masses. The center will also organize extracurricular activities, according to the application, including retreats, speakers and a faculty mentoring program. Recent graduates whose careers reflect the goals of the journey project may be among the speakers. To help students explore ministry, the application calls for the center to hold informal gatherings with friars, visits to religious communities and seminaries and vocation exploration groups. A parish internship may be established, along with a retreat for high school students and an annual youthfest. Stanley said, ³The entire program is voluntary.² The grant application suggests changing campus culture through summer vocation retreats for faculty and staff, Franciscan heritage retreats, theology reflection groups for students and staff, and service workshops. Stanley said he hopes the culture shift will integrate and coordinate campus groups that donıt currently work together. He said, for example, that there is currently little coordination between Student Life, Residence Life and University Ministries. He said a change in campus culture might make the university ³more open for students who take their faith seriously.² ³Students might run into religious questions more often,² Stanley said. Saal said, ³We are far from starting at ground zero.² The grant should help ³build upon whatıs already here and make it stronger,² he said.
Diversity Access fund to encourage variety
By: Holly McIntyre
The university plans to offer a $500 to $6,000 Diversity Access Scholarship to incoming freshmen in the next school year to attract a more racially diverse group of students. Mary Piccioli, director of financial aid, said this program is one of many steps the university plans to take to encourage greater diversity in the student population. The universityıs Strategic Plan, which outlines the schoolıs goals and values for the coming years lists encouraging diversity on campus as one of its priorities, according to Piccioli. Applicants must be African American, Hispanic American, Native American or Asian American. They must also fulfill the universityıs entrance requirements and complete their application within the priority admissions time frame. Students then apply to regular scholarship programs based on their SAT/ACT scores and grades. The Diversity Access Scholarship may be given based on financial need and academic achievement, according to ³Inside Bonaıs.² Students whose applications show an interest in values stressed at St. Bonaventure may be given special consideration, according to Piccioli. She said this might be determined by studentsı extra-curricular and leadership activities, their entrance essay or on-campus visits. Piccioli said, ³No other studentıs financial aid will be decreased because of this program.² ³It will be a small portion of a significant grant/scholarship program already offered by the university from which students receive grants/scholarships based on academic achievement, financial need, athletics, musical talent, sibling enrollment and parish affiliation,² she said. Funds for the Diversity Access Scholarship come from tuition revenue with the money for other scholarship program. Piccioli said this program is not the first of its kind at the university. ³A number of years ago the university did have a small scholarship fund for students of color. It was made available when a full-tuition scholarship used for a particular high school was converted to a minority scholarship after the high school closed. It was phased out a few years later,² she said. According to Piccioli, the university does not currently have plans to develop more programs like this. Piccioli said the university distributed brochures for the scholarship to visiting students and in the New York City area when representatives from campus visited high schools ³where there are larger populations for students of color,² she added. She said colleges comparable to St. Bonaventure, like Canisius College and Nazareth College, offer scholarships similar to the Diversity Access Scholarship, but the university ³started the program because itıs the right thing for St. Bonaventure to do,² not because of what other colleges offer.
Around SBU.com attracts few users
By: Shane Colligan
In September 2001, the university launched Around-SBU.com, a Web site which John Lympany, executive director for information services, said ³serves a nice niche² for the university community. More than a year later, Lympany describes the site as ³faculty driven.² ³The volume of people who use the site is relatively small,² he said. ³Itıs difficult to tell how many people visit (AroundSBU),² he said. ³We donıt get regular updates on its use. Itıs safe to say that if faculty isnıt using it, the students probably arenıt either.² AroundSBU.com is a free service provided by the same company that sells ads for the undergraduate student directory and AroundCampus, Inc., a company which publishes Web sites for universities nationwide, Lympany said. The Web site offers a current-events schedule, an e-mail system, a directory of local businesses and a place for faculty to post class notes, according to a Sept. 7, 2001, article from The Bona Venture. Susan Anders, assistant professor of accounting, said she uses the Web site on a weekly basis for her five accounting classes and three graduate classes. ³Itıs very effective for students who make use of the system,² she said. ³The upperclassmen and graduate students make particularly good use of it. The part-time MBA students find it to be extremely helpful.² Carol Fischer, professor of accounting, agreed. ³Feedback from my students has generally been very positive,² she said. ³Many students like to be able to access PowerPoint notes and other resources from AroundSBU.² Fischer said her graduate students have also received the site well. She said she uses the site for an undergraduate accounting class and the graduate-level Tax Policy class. ³Students have to visit AroundSBU to download articles that I have posted for class and details concerning certain assignments,² she said. Fischer said many of her students use the site to download class notes, access links to the Internet and review homework assignments. Darwin King, associate professor of accounting, said he uses the Web site regularly for all of his undergraduate classes and several of the graduate classes he teaches at the Buffalo Center at Hilbert College. ³I make an attempt to post all class-related material to this Web site,² he said. King called the Web site a ³great resource if a student misses class. He or she can get the notes for the day from this site.² Use of the site is optional for Kingıs students. He said he thinks they visit the site to replace a lost syllabus or get class notes. ³I think it is a nice feature for the students who normally use it as a backup,ı² he said. ³If they need any materials used in class, they can download a copy, normally, without a problem.² Anders said she found some freshmen may not utilize the site and, in turn, could ³miss some really helpful information.² On the other hand,² she said, ³some freshmen access the material before I announce that it is available.² Fischer said AroundSBU, which she has used almost weekly since its inception, is easy to use. ³(It) required very little training and is really seamless. The only glitches have occurred when students have had delays in getting (student) accounts established (so that they can use the site),² she said. Jim Fodor, associate professor of theology, disagreed. ³I tried to use AroundSBU.com my first year at Bonaventure (in 2000),² he said. ³It was then so full of bugs and other problems that I have since discontinued its use in my classes. Perhaps the problems have been ironed out since then, but I havenıt investigated that. Currently I maintain contact with my classes through SBUıs e-mail system.² Suzanne Watson, lecturer of computer sciences, said she has also discontinued use of the site. She said she now uses FrontPage, a Web-page composition program. Fischer said, ³I think it is most effective for students when more than one of their classes makes use of it.² Senior Kathleen Jensen, a marketing major, said she visits AroundSBU.com once a week to check assignments from professors. ³I like how my professors can list any events, tests or homework for his or her class,² she said. Other students said they like how easy the Web site is to use. Sophomore Laurie Ziolkowski, a math major, said, ³I thought it was organized and it was easy to get the information off of it that I needed for class.² Kristin McMullen, a sophomore marketing major, said she does not visit the site often. ³Once or twice for a school project,² she said. She said she does not like that the Web site requires a password. Michael Hoffman, network and communications manager, said AroundSBU was ³not a long-term answer.² ³The (AroundSBU) e-mail capacity is limited. You only have 50 megs of memory and canıt send anything over 500k. It pales in comparison to what weıre using now.²
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