A Town Hall meeting yesterday was an opportunity for Ohio University students, faculty and staff to voice opinions and concerns about the university, OU President Roderick McDavis said. However, some attendees found the meeting to be unsatisfactory.
McDavis and other administrators spent two hours responding to questions and comments on a wide range of topics, but many attendees, especially students, expressed concern about shared governance and student involvement in administrative decisions.
How do you define 'shared governance' when no one outside the administration has voting power? asked Damon Krane, a writer for OU's Interactivist Magazine.
Every constituent group has a say in administrative decisions, including students, faculty, and administration, McDavis said, adding that the Town Hall meeting was an opportunity for all community members to voice an opinion.
Open forums are not shared governance
said Will Klatt, spokesman for Students for Effective and Accountable Leadership. And Student Senate is irrelevant because it has no power to make decisions. The administration makes all the decisions.
To ensure shared governance, the governing methods of Student Senate and Graduate Student Senate might need to be changed, Graduate Student Senate President Dominic Barbato said.
Essentially the government structure of the university hasn't changed in 30 years Barbato said. We may need to reexamine the representative system. Take us to task if you feel we're not doing our jobs.
Student Senate president Morgan Allen also urged students to come to meetings with suggestions and complaints.
We are a direct link to the administration
Allen said. Our one main job is to represent students
and we want them to come to us with concerns.
McDavis said he respects the role of Student Senate and other constituency groups. However, some students still feel powerless to influence university decisions. Lauren Hagenbaugh, an OU junior and employee at The Oasis, asked why students were left out of the university's decision to close The Oasis.
Students were not engaged in this process
Hagenbaugh said. No one in the administration asked how we felt about the Oasis closing.
Vice President for Finance and Administration Bill Decatur confirmed that The Oasis will close at the end of Fall Quarter, while acknowledging that the restaurant is popular with students. OU has not decided what to do with the Oasis site, Decatur said.
Although the Town Hall meeting was open to all members of the Ohio University community, few administrators, faculty or staff asked direct questions, prompting Roxanne Male-Brune, director of Grant Writing and Projects for the vice president of Research, to urge them to voice concerns.
We are the stewards of the future of the university
Male-Brune said. If we are not satisfied
then why aren't we participating?
Despite facing some tough questions, McDavis said he believed the Town Hall meeting was a success.
I think we opened lines of communication
and I'm happy with the turnout
he said after the meeting. I'd like to have a Town Hall meeting at least once a quarter.
