Students pulling all-nighters in the Kelvin Smith Library (KSL) next year may not have to go very far to get coffee and a snack. Karen Oye from KSL spoke at the beginning of Case Western Reserve University’s Undergraduate Student Government (USG) general assembly this past Tuesday, Oct. 5. She shared the news that “within a year, we will probably see a café at KSL”. Fishing for ideas, she asked the representatives what they would like to see in a café at KSL, with the most supported suggestions being good coffee, fair prices, and the ability to use Case Cash. Oye also reminded the assembly about various services, like ASKSL (Ask a Librarian) on the KSL homepage and the KSL Facebook page, which will also feature updates about new developments at the library.
During committee reports, USG president Minh-Tri Nguyen confirmed that the Student State of the University Address will be held in Strosacker Auditorium on Oct. 20 at 6 p.m. Students are encouraged to forward any items of concern to him so he can suggest them to president Barbara Snyder.
Vice-president of student life Divya Aggarwal met with Dick Jamieson from Campus Services to discuss concerns that some lights on campus are not coming on early enough. She explained that the photo cells in some lights may not be functioning properly, but the issue will be addressed soon. In addition, Standard Parking is interested in creating a Greenie stop in Little Italy, and while the assembly generally liked the idea, many expressed concerns because of the already heavy traffic in the compact area.
Colin Downey, vice president of Finance, informed the assembly that CollegiateLink was updated this past Monday. He also informed the assembly that recognition for student groups will begin this Friday and go until Mass Funding forms are due on Nov. 5. Recognition for student groups will be done electronically through CollegiateLink this year, but financial requests will return to paper. Downey said this decision was based on factors like survey responses and workload.
Vice president of Academic Affairs Jared Hamilton reported that the search committee for a new assistant dean will soon conclude. In response to the recent string of suicides of homosexual teenagers throughout the country, there will be a vigil on Monday, Oct. 11, which is National Coming Out Day. Hamilton also met with vice provost Donald Feke about general education requirement (GER) forums.
“The forums being planned will focus on whether or not CWRU should have an official common curriculum,” Hamilton said, as currently physical education and SAGES classes are the only commonly required courses.
The assembly elected sophomore Jason Tabachnik and junior Svetlana Villano as new USG representatives of the College of Arts and Sciences. Finally, members also passed a resolution establishing virtualization technology, which will enhance CWRU’s sustainability. The resolution claims such a service can be used by students and student organizations to give them a long-term solution for hosting websites. The bill’s authors said that the pros far outweigh the cons, as it will be easy to stop people from abusing the service. It will enable students to test out new technology projects that would ordinarily require the student to set up, run, and maintain his or her own server.