Trustees hold 'town meeting'

On Friday, Jan. 25, the IU Board of Trustees held a town meeting on student issues. It was open to all students and took place during the board's Campus Community Committee meeting. The board is spending much of the current academic year looking at various aspects of the undergraduate experience. \n"It is our job to make sure the university is focused on making the best opportunities open to students," trustee James T. Morris said. "College is a crucial time for students to learn and grow and these opportunities need to come from the school." \nMany student-run organizations were represented at the meeting. Union Board, Asian American Association, Graduate and Professional Student Organization, Panhellenic Association, Interfraternity Council, OUT, IU Dance Marathon Council, Student Recreational Sports Association, Black Student Union, Outreach Kenya Development, IUSA and the Residence Hall Association were all in attendance. Some organizations addressed challenges -- faced by all students, not just their organizations -- and asked for the trustees suggestions and opinions on how to overcome these barriers.\nThe Outreach Kenya Development is struggling for funds this year for their summer trip to Kenya where they educate over 30,000 people on HIV, build preschools and partake in various other community services. IU Dance Marathon Council faced a huge challenge in October this past year when canning, their main source of donations to Riley Children's Hospital, was banned in Indianapolis.\n"We could talk for hours on the issues and concerns our organizations and students face, yet it is hard finding five minutes on what to address here," Collin Godecke, Interfraternity Council President said. \nStudents were given five minutes to address the Board of Trustees. Godecke was representing the greek community expressing his concerns as well at other students on how the greek system is often portrayed in the media and outside the system. \nSenior Ken Minami represented the Residence Hall Association, stressing a concern about the price increase of meal plans that came as a counter-measure to the expense of new computers in the dorms. The association is trying its best to come up with solutions to keep student expenses as low as possible. Minami suggested creating a meal plan for off-campus students at the meeting.\nOther students used their time to inform the trustees of their organization's role on campus. \nOUT president Jason Jones said that the goal of his organization is to unite gays and lesbians around campus and give them a place to share issues they face on a daily basis. \n"It makes things easier when you can talk with others who are going through the same challenges," he said. \nMorris said the Board of Trustees has a genuine interest in the IU student experience and wants to make sure they are doing everything they can to make it as special as possible. He added that IU has students of all different races and cultures, whose activities and interests vary. The board, he said, works to make sure students at IU build life long relationships and have an educational experience. \n"It is nice to see students work together to make a difference in the everyday lives of others, along with their academics," Morris said. "They make time for the problems and struggles of not only their peers but people around the world"