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November 15, 2005
University council links schools, students to address issues
University Council is something many students on campus may not have heard of, but it is something everyone should be aware of. A collaboration of the the College of Liberal Arts, the Law School, and the three graduate schools, the council encourages communication between schools, between staff and students, and recommend solutions to campus-wide issues.
It is also an opportunity for CLA students who often don’t think about the other schools on campus to get a sense of the bigger picture at Hamline. The council is made up of between forty and fifty students and staff representing their schools.
Jessica Richart, Winta Yacob, Jake Peterson, and Shanelle Evens are the CLA representatives. There is one student representative and multiple faculty and staff representatives from each of the other schools.
Some of the issues that the council deal with include technology, administration-to-student communication, diversity, and funding for different projects on campus. Once a year, the council gives a sixty-minute presentation to the Board of Trustees explaining what student life is like. The Board gets to ask three questions of the council, and the council gets to ask three questions of the Board.
The influence the council has on final decisions has diminished over the past few years, and its existence has come into question under President Hanson. Currently, as it has been for many years, U-Council is the main vehicle of communication between campus and the Board of Trustees and other administration.
Issues that involve the entire campus could be brought up to a representative who would then bring it up in committee or to the group as a whole. Although the council does not have the authority to make a final decision, they can make recommendations to the appropriate administrative official or group to consider.
President Hanson wants to open up different avenues, possibly including personal visits with the president herself.
According to Evens, the council has “great potential” to influence policy on campus for students and to facilitate communication between students and the administration.
At this point, that kind of communication is rare. Ultimately and ideally, said Evens, there would be opportunities for any student to go directly to a member of the Board of Trustees with any concern and discuss possible solutions with them.
Until a final decision is made regarding the continuation of this group, U-Council will carry on business as usual to help the entire Hamline community in any way it can.
Posted by msveum at November 15, 2005 11:43 AM
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