In address to Student Senate, the Board of Trustees members stress the importance of voting
Members from the Board of Trustees also discussed issues regarding disability, state higher education funding, and sexual assaults on campus.
[dropcap txtcolor="#234a83" style="dropcap1"]M[/dropcap]embers of the Ohio University Board of Trustees addressed Student Senate at the body’s Wednesday night meeting on the importance of voting in the upcoming gubernatorial election.“You ought to know what the governor thinks about this, about higher education,” Dave Scholl, chair of the Board of Trustees, said. The board actively watches how legislation will affect funding for Ohio University. The university employs a lobbyist at the Statehouse in Columbus who advocates on behalf of the school’s interests. Scholl said that the state of Ohio used to pay 75 cents on the dollar to support higher education; this amount has dropped considerably. According to Scholl, there are some states that currently receive no funding at all. “Somewhere between now and then it shifted,” he said. “It eroded. We have to move forward looking at the cost component without losing the quality component.”[AdSense-A]Both Scholl and Board of Trustees Vice Chair Janelle Coleman noted that there are buildings on campus that haven’t changed in 20 years, which has an effect on current and future students. A senator raised a question regarding accessibility issues at Ohio U due to financial aid.“We, Ohio University, pride ourselves in being accessible,” Coleman said. “Everyone should be able to be a Bobcat.”The pair also praised Student Senate and the entirety of Ohio U’s student body for starting the conversation around sexual assault on campus. “These students are basically leading the community by themselves,” Scholl said. They added that funds are being allocated to combat sexual assault and recommendations for the issue should be presented by the spring semester. In other business:
- The body approved mandatory office hours for Student Senate members.
- A justice was appointed to the Student Senate Judicial Panel.
- The Senate voted to approve a new commissioner to the Environmental Affairs Commission.
- Funding was approved for Student Senate to purchase office supplies.