Student Life Committee talks about housing and dining

Members discuss agendas at year's first SLC meeting

The Student Life Committee (SLC) held its first meeting of the semester on Monday. After reintroducing themselves, committee members discussed any personal agendas they had.

The committee passed a proposal to redefine the Committee size.

The Committee can now include nine voting members, among them four faculty, four students and one ex-officio non-voting member. Committee chair Jane Armitage, associate professor of theater, said the proposal has been sent to the General Faculty (GF) but so far there has been no response.

Associate Dean of Students Bill Stackman reported on his plans for a proposal to create a Student Union Board to go before the Committee in March.

"A Student Union Board will really change how decisions are made in Wilder," Stackman said. "Right now staff members make decisions, and even though we do a great job talking to students and listening to their input, what we really want is to say to students, 'You make the decisions.' We want to step down from the decision-making process and let the Board have real authority and real power."

Once the Committee approves Stackman's proposal, it can be sent to the GF for approval in April.

Associate Dean of Student Life and Services Deborah McNish's reported on the upcoming multiple meal plan and Dascomb renovations. In devising the new meal plan, McNish said, the Office of Residential Life and Services "tried to get a handle on students' and parents' complaints on the meal plan."

"Students' priorities include lower cost, flexibility and expanded services," she said. Although next year's meal plan cost will be lowered by $200, according to McNish, "We're trying to manipulate the numbers to bring it down lower."

McNish said there will be two dining options for on-campus and three for off-campus students. The first option allows students to eat the standard 21 meals per week at any Campus Dining Services (CDS) dining hall. The second offers 14 meals per week at any CDS dining hall plus $400 per year in flex dollars.

"Flex dollars give students an opportunity to eat anywhere, buy a sandwich at Wilder after hours or go to the convenient store and buy detergent or some other item," McNish said.

Off-campus students also have the option of eating seven meals per week at any CDS hall with $800 per year in flex dollars. McNish said all the meal plans cost $2997 and will be available in the Fall semester of 1998.

McNish said Dascomb's dining hall will be remodeled to be a food court. It will include "new services such as a pizza platform, traditional variety of homestyle and health-conscious meals, a chef's feature cook-to-order station, salad bar and traditional grill offerings," according to a handout McNish gave Committee members.

"Students asked for the ability to grab and go. They don't want to be pressed to stay in facilities and eat all they can," McNish said.

After McNish's report the Committee broke itself into the three subgroups it established last semester. Several faculty, staff and students sit on either the "Governance and Organizations" group, the "Pluralism" group or the "Faculty/Student Interaction" group.

The group meets again in March.