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News

SOC looks for ways to improve

by EVELYN VILLATORO
The Daily Cougar

The Student Government Association is working in conjunction with faculty and alumni to collectively improve the School of Communication and the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.

In an SGA ‘ meeting held last week, CLASS Sen. Gus Forward updated his peers on the strategies he has been working on to further improve several aspects of the School of Communication.

Forward discussed the possibilities of re-opening a radio station in the School of Communication with faculty member Ted Stanton. Stanton said he agreed with the idea, but the problem of funding and resources would be an issue.

"What I'm trying to do is get a strong base of alumni to get this radio station," Forward said. "We're trying to form a team for funding and fund raising and coordinate this team to get this done."

The idea is to raise awareness within the alumni community and have them work with faculty and students in order get a radio station up and running.

"You don't want to rush this," Forward said. "The idea is to get the right people behind this."

Forward also discussed working on Channel 6 to create a DVD that would describe in detail the School of Communication and its organizations, faculty and students. The DVD would be available for any student applying to the School of Communication and would showcase the school's qualities.

Forward said he also talked to Stanton about the possibility of continuing to update equipment for the School of Communication.

"It's kind of difficult to train students if the equipment is out of date," Forward said. "We need to try and mobilize people to raise money and get things done."

Possible changes to the CLASS were also discussed in the meeting. Among those was the topic of mini-semesters. The policy would benefit students who drop a class halfway into the semester by giving them the alternative to take another class without losing the semester.

Forward said he also spoke with CLASS Dean John J. Antel about the issue of flat-rate tuition.

"It's nothing that's being put into change now," Forward said. "But it's a big issue."

Antel said he wants to add the fees into the tuition instead of paying extra fees.

"It's hard to keep track of all these different fees," Antel said. "It's about predictability and simplification," Antel said. "You get one number, and you know what that number is going to be."

Forward said the new idea would help clarify costs for students.

"They're trying to allocate it so that you pay for what you're taking," Forward said.

Among other things proposed are hybrid Fridays. This would eliminate classes for students on Fridays.

"About 88 percent of students are commuters, and sometimes they have to drive to campus only for one class on Friday," Forward said.

Also suggested is the possibility of CLASS offering more classes during the weekend.

"This would benefit students who are parents," Forward said. "This would provide another avenue for them to take."

Forward said SGA is working to successfully bring these changes into effect.

"We all work together," Forward said. "We work as a group. It's a team effort."

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