Changes are happening in the Student Center. According to Dean of Students Brian Mauro, the Office of Residence Life will soon be joining the Office of Student Life in its hallway, and some clubs and organizations that are currently meeting in the Student Center will be relocated to different spaces.
The combination of Residence Life and Student Life in the Student Center will result in a comprehensive Campus Life office. Mauro hopes the changes will “help students utilize the space in the Student Center more,” he said.
While Mauro said that nothing is “set in stone” yet, clubs expected to be affected have started feeling the changes. Selena Edwards, president of the FDU’s WFDM radio station, thinks organizations have been feeling “more stressed than ever because now we have to keep up with the change,” she said.
WFDM, the Florham Park Programming Committee (FPC), and The Metro are all organizations located in the Student Center that will be directly affected by the relocation of some offices and redistribution of others. “What I was told by my faculty adviser, David Bernstein, was that our station would be moved from the room we are in now to a space in the back of the Student Center. Dean Mauro is planning on making us a studio and office where the couches are opposite the vending machine,” Edwards said.
FPC’s office will also change locations within the Student Center. “I had heard directly from Dean Mauro about FPC’s office relocation about three weeks ago. When the discussion was occurring, Dean Mauro made it clear that FPC and The Metro will be sharing the office of what is now The Metro, with a divider wall in between two work areas, and a common meeting table in the front of the room,” said Mackenze D’Orsi, president of FPC.
Mauro confirmed both potential changes, but he is not positive when the changes will take place. “Maybe next semester, maybe not until next fall… We don’t know for certain,” he said. “I’m setting up all the dominoes and ready to tip them over… But FPC will be relocating and all the campus life staff will move down into what is currently the student life wing.”
The construction taking place within The Metro office to accommodate FPC, according to Mauro, will consist of non-permanent industrial based partitions. “With semi-permanent partitions we could do it very nicely but not nearly as cost prohibited,” Mauro said.
According to Provost Kenneth Greene, “Every year each campus is allocated money for capital projects – projects that improve the campus’ physical facilities. The money comes primarily from general revenue - tuition, fees, the annual fund, and investments,” he said. “Each year, requests come from various campus offices for capital improvements. I create a list and try to fund projects that increase safety and security, support academic and student life programs, and enhance the beauty of the campus. Of course, I can’t fund all the requests. This year money has been allocated for projects in the Student Center.”
Edwards and D’Orsi are apprehensive about the change. “The changing of offices for FPC is a very large ordeal,” D’Orsi said. Edwards does not feel it is the right time. “Relocating again is not something I particularly think this timing is right for,” said Edwards.
On a recent Friday afternoon, Mauro pointed out that all the lights to almost every office were off and the office doors were locked. “This is not the best way to utilize this space,” Mauro said. “This is the Office of Student Life… but it looks pretty lifeless to me.”
D’Orsi believes FPC’s office is being utilized already. “It holds a lot of tradition for us and is an office that all members utilize on a daily basis,” she said, adding that FPC hold meetings in the office every weekday and one weekend night a week.
The combination of Residence Life and Student Life will result in the relocation of their offices as well. Residence Life will soon be joining the space of Student Life, leaving the current Residence Life offices vacant. “There is lots of space up there in residence life that was actually intended for resident halls,” said Julie Mazur, assistant dean of students and director of residence life. “Reality is we may not all fit 100 percent down in the student life office.”
The problem that seems to be on students’ minds is how will both offices fit into just one? Edwards, who has worked at Residence Life her entire academic career, questions the relocation. “I think the combining of the departments mean that there is going to be a lot of crowding. The amount of people who come in and out of those two offices is ridiculous,” she said.
D’Orsi keeps an optimistic view about the change. “The combination of Residence Life and Student Life seems to be a convenient way for students to access two key elements that make up FDU,” she said. But, she added, “as an RA myself, I know that it is hectic enough in Residence Life… that it will be a tight space to fit all of that on top of Student Life. I am not sure where they are all going to fit.”
While Mauro believes the change will truly benefit the students by allowing them to utilize both departments effectively, both Edwards and D’Orsi think it will be hard for students to stand out. “You’ll be one of the million faces that walks into Campus Life and you’ll have to come back again to be another face amongst the crowd in the office,” Edwards said.
“The Campus Life office will be so jam packed, it will be hard to be an individual with certain wants and needs, that you will be put into a line to wait just to be able to talk with someone about an issue you may have,” said D’Orsi.
Edwards, for one, is tired of staying silent about the changes that are coming to the student center, and her club. “Keeping quiet and observing the changes was my decision, but now I think that there should be a lot said for things to come to a halt. I know many people who have concerns about the changes that have already happened and are planned to happen. Unfortunately they are silenced because they are not the President of Student Government Association; they are just a president of a faceless club,” she said.
Melinda Pinto, the newly-elected president of the Student Government Association, believes that the changes in the Student Center are a great idea. “By having a reallocation of space for various clubs and organizations would really reinforce what the Student Center is supposed to stand for; a place where every student can go,” she said. “With this proposal, students can get access to many more things, and therefore, updates, deadlines and events can get easily advertised and announced, because many departments will be located close to each other.” The SGA is not expected to be affected by the changes being proposed by Mauro.
Edwards overall opinion of the subject is that “there are bigger things to worry about rather than making room for new projects that will cost a lot of time and money.”
Although D’Orsi is concerned about the changes coming to her club, she is hoping that the administration will keep the students’ interests in mind.
“I may not always agree with changes that are happening on campus, but I truly believe that Dean Mauro is looking out for the student population by the combination of these two amazing offices on campus. I can only hope that it is received well by all in order for everyone to be happy and love what they do,” she said.
KAYLA HASTRUP
News Editor
December 12th, 2008 at 12:52 am
The changes we desperately need to rejuvenate the campus culture at FDU are getting a big boost from the initiatives Dean Mauro has started to implement.
This is a time of great change. For our campus and for our nation- change is on the menu.
Since Dean Mauro came to RA training over the summer to give us his outlook, having only been in the office for a handful of days, he has already accomplished more than I’ve seen from some campus leaders in years.
Yes, he’s shaking up the sediment of complacency in multiple departments, but it’s the stagnation and acceptance of the status quo that has killed the culture here, making it feel like the suitcase school we call it.
I believe that where there is a will to get something done, there is a way, but compromise is key. Students have to realize their own potential, taking ownership of their educational environment. Realizing that just because something was done a certain way for the last 20 years, doesn’t mean it was ever the “right” way, or the most cost-effective way, or even the most efficient way.
Dean Mauro is doing his job. He is the Dean of Students. He is accountable to the student body. And the success of his office directly affects the success of the students. When he first came to us with all these grand ideas and major changes and schemes, we really all rolled our eyes and said “Good luck, we’ll see if that ever happens.”
And since working with him over the past 4 months he has already done more than he initially intended, exceeding expectations, meeting goals, and laying the foundation for continued improvement of campus life- not just a one-time deal.
Students have a right to complain. Students also have a right to do something about it. In the words of Master Yoda- Do or do not. There is no try. You can gain brownie points for your group’s cause now, but there has to be a follow-up and continuation of that spirit of leadership after you pass the torch to someone else.
The #1 reason why most student organizations don’t work is because they aren’t designed to. They are run by students. And therefore the organization is only as effective as the people running it. Effective groups need effective leaders with a focus, a drive, and a vision. But they also need to train their successors to carry that vision. Leadership training is like taking a shower: if you only do it once a year you will stink.
The groups affected by the changes made on campus must also realize that with these changes, many of the overlooked “faceless” clubs will have a fighting chance to make their mark. Some clubs that have gotten lost in the shuffle over the years, that have gone inactive, will benefit from the arrangements being made. And with Admissions over-promising illusions of grandeur to prospective students, a unified Campus Life office will be able to live up to the expectations of incoming students. We mustn’t allow people to arrive here disappointed and either transfer, or live at home on the weekends.