At Tuesday's SGA public forum, senior Carl Davis likened a university's position on issues to a washing machine. No clothes will get clean in a washing machine without an agitator. In the same manner, university policy cannot be improved without something to stir up the process.
This is why such a forum is important, said Davis. The students become the agitators.
Davis was one of nearly 60 students who attended the forum -- SGA's fourth of the year. The panel featured five administrators and was open to any student question or concern. The hot topic at the forum was diversity.
"Students will come and go," said Davis in a speech that earned applause from the audience, "but the administration has to make a long-range decision (about diversity)."
Students asked about multicultural classes, recruitment of minority students and Multicultural Center funding. Thomas Lowe, associate provost and dean of University College, said there are no plans to add a multicultural class to the core curriculum. Lowe said that universities that do offer a multicultural class have not been pleased and are looking at other options now. "I would argue that we don't need a diversity course," he said. "We need diversity infused in a number of courses."
Lowe said a task force is currently evaluating the core curriculum and will have a recommendation sometime next year. The panel was also questioned about the difficult task of recruiting minority students. Douglas McConkey, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management, said the admissions office is making a concerted effort to reach high school students in the inner cities of Chicago, Detroit and Cincinnati.
Lowe also explained that Ball State has received McNair grants from the state. These grants are aimed at recruiting minority high school students and supporting them through their undergraduate years with hopes of having them earn master's degrees and doctorate degrees.
Kay Bales, associate vice president for student life, said funding for the Multicultural Center has increased from about $14,000 this school year to $35,000 for the next academic year. The money is coming partially from the new $1,000 fee for incoming freshmen and partly from private donors, Bales said.
"This is a permanent allocation," Bales said, "not a onetime increase."
She also said the Multicultural Center will "look to students to find the best way to utilize the newfound resources."
The panel also discussed topics that were not related to diversity. Students asked asked about parking and tuition. When a student asked where the money from parking tickets and permits goes, McConkey explained that it went right back into parking services to pay for maintenance and personnel.
"If you want more parking, we'll charge you more," he said. "If you want worse parking, we'll charge you less." McConkey also addressed tuition hikes.
"We can expect an increase but have no idea of what the nature will be," he said. McConkey said capping college tuition in Indiana, which is rumored to be a possibility, would be a large problem for the university.
"We're hoping they will support us although the budget is very tight," he said. SGA vice president Megan Pickens set up the forum and called it a success.
"I think it did go well," Pickens said. "We had students there with good concerns. The panelists did a good job of explaining things."
Junior Travis Harvey applauded SGA's effort. "It's cool to have this social interaction and to get (the panelists) all together at once," he said.
Athletics director, Bubba Cunningham, and assistant director of housing and residence life, Robbie Lopez, completed the five-person board.
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