Spring Quarter

This administration represents a distinct attitude change from the last administration in our attitude towards many of the aspects of student life. Most noticeably is the change in attitude towards sponsoring events and the overall atmosphere of Senate. My personal style is more relaxed and populist than the previous administration and as such we have already had two themed General Assembly meetings. We also have sponsored or participated in various events with other organizations in order to increase Senate awareness and help other organizations. We also have achieved goals already that the last administration had set into place but were unable to fully realize, such as the quarterly newsletter. The entire list of what we have done thus far in the quarter is listed below:

 

Sponsored Events:

This year we have sponsored various events with other organizations. These are the events we have sponsored or participated in as Senate from earliest in the quarter to the most recent one.

 

Coffeehouse with President Baker - March 30th, 2009

This event is a staple in Senate's repertoire of events. This year's Coffeehouse focused mostly on the economic situation in the United States and how that affects the University as a whole and in particular students. President Baker expressed that the University is doing all it can to make the costs incurred on the students as small as possible while still providing the same level of service. Ideas were brought up on how to save money for the University such as reducing ONU publications such as the "Who's Who" booklet, turning down or off lights in buildings when not in use, and also reducing the amount of money used for things such as travel and meal expenses. Although not all the cuts made this year will remain in effect permanently, the possibility of making some of them permanent was discussed and received very well by the students who attended. Going Green was also discussed through various avenues such as the possibilities with wind power, more widespread recycling, and reduced power usage.

Other topics covered included the Phase II housing construction out at Affinity and the geothermal well drilling. Residents of Affinity were concerned of the ground shaking and of the noise that would be made by the construction and drilling. Later that week when Affinity residents were asked of their experiences, there had been no ground shaking or overly loud noises and this obviously pleased them as well as Residence Life and Student Senate.

 

Dress like a Fool Day at General Assembly - April 1st, 2009

This idea began as a way to loosen the atmosphere of General Assembly on April Fool's Day to make everyone more comfortable with each other. It ended up also being a costume contest with a runway walk down the middle of the room and prizes. The prizes offered were a 25 dollar Visa gift card, a 20 dollar Subway gift card, and a 15 dollar Starbucks gift card. The winners were: First Place: Jamie Scott; Second Place: Andrew Adamus; Third Place: Melissa Straub. These three, along with about five or six others, participated in the event and everyone very much enjoyed the fun.

 

Student Leadership Conference - April 5th, 2009

This conference was in planning starting in November of 2008 by a committee headed by former Vice President Chris Senesi along with six other Senators. The preparations took a great deal of time and we invested a large amount of money in publicity and speakers. Despite our best efforts, things still were pushed back to the point where registration was occurring only a few weeks out from the conference. This, coupled with the economic recession hitting the country at the time, caused a severe drop in our registration and effectiveness of our campaigning.

Because of the lack of response from the eighty schools we invited, the decision was made to open to the conference to the ONU community and dropping all registration charges. In order to be fair, we also dropped the registration to charges to other schools. By doing this, we were able to attract four other schools and eleven organizations from Ohio Northern to send representatives giving us a total of forty attendees at the conference. These representatives had the privilege of listening to nationally renowned speakers Doug Cureton and Steve Gilliland in four separate speaker sessions. The attendees also were able to interact in one of four breakout sessions that dealt with separate organizational topics such as growth, membership retention, and activities.

The conference was overall a success and everyone who participated enjoyed their experience. The feedback we received on the surveys handed out at the end of the conference gave us overwhelmingly positive responses and encouraged us to continue the unique experience of a regional conference held by a small, private university.

 

Senate at the Ballpark - April 26th, 2009

"Senate at the Ballpark" was an effort to reach out to the students in a new venue. The idea was for Senate to sponsor a softball game in order to become more engaged in the athletic community on campus and the one we chose was between the ONU Polar Bears and the Wilmington Quakers. It was originally set to take place on Tuesday, April 21st but was rained out and thus was rescheduled for Sunday, April 26th.

Despite the quick turnaround on dates, the event was very successful. It offered students the opportunity to hang out with friends and Senators while watching one of the best Division III teams in the country and enjoying plenty of free hot dogs and drinks! It was such a success that two trips to the store were needed in order to continue to keep up with the demand for hot dogs and drinks. The weather was a refreshing 80 degrees after a week of rain and 50 degree weather and the attendance for the game was very heavy. While originally planning to stay only until the end of the first game, we ended up staying for both games and gave away a total of 156 hot dogs and nearly the same number of soda and water.

During the event, we received feedback from students to the likes of "I had no idea Senate did cool stuff like this" and "You guys need to do this again!" We were very pleased with the turnout and felt that we had accomplished the goal of making more people aware of Senate while at the same time providing them with a new perspective of what we can be.

 

Hawaiian Day at General Assembly - April 29th, 2009

This was another event aimed at again making the atmosphere of General Assembly more relaxed and encouraging friendship between the Senators. This event saw a much higher rate of participation by all members of Senate and, although there was no costume contest, seemed to be just as enjoyable as our "Dress like a Fool Day." There were very interesting clothing combinations and Hawaiian prints I have not seen before, and it really did make the atmosphere of General Assembly more fun and relaxed. We still were able to go through the agenda and maintain a business-first attitude but we did so in a way that allowed people to be themselves and connect with one another on a level that was not simply "I'm a Senator, you're a Senator." This was the last themed General Assembly meeting of the year, but we hope to continue them on next year with the General Assembly during the week of Halloween being a definite themed night.

 

"Breaking the Glass Ceiling" - April 30th, 2009

This event was part of the umbrella of Unite for Awareness Week and tackled the issue of sexism in the workplace. As speakers, Senate invited Vice President Karen Condeni, Vice President Anne Lippert, and Interim Vice President Adriane Bradshaw to speak at the event. As the connotation of the name suggests, this night was full of positive messages of what women are capable of doing and how they can achieve those successes. The three women shared their experiences and how they achieved the success they currently enjoy as well as the hard work it took to get there. There were tips on how to act in the workplace, how to talk to co-workers, and on the life decisions that will need to be made as a person grows older. The three of them also reminded all of those who attended that we all need to be able to make the choice of what things are most important and to talk with our future spouses on the arrangements should children enter the equation.

This candid and intimate talk on work and the family impacted those of us who were there in powerful ways. I myself was able to take many things away from the talk, despite being male and not typically a victim of sexism as it exists in America. There was advice for everyone who attended and I would venture to say that not one person who listened to what these three women had to say left without some caveat they took to heart.

 

Pie the President and Vice President for Relay for Life - May 1st, 2009

The Relay for Life Entertainment Committee this year approached Kelly Morman and I a few weeks from the main event to see if we were interested in being pied. Now, I had never before been pied, but I jumped at the chance because I felt it would be very fun. Nothing could have prepared me for how much fun I truly had when the event finally came to fruition.

Despite the cold and rainy night, Kelly and I sat in chairs in the open air anticipating getting pied in the face. The very first pie was thrown at 7:10 and from that time until 8:20 Kelly and I sat in our chairs begging anyone who went by to pie me in the face. Each person who threw a pie was expected to donate whatever little money they could in a jar on the table next to us and overall we were able to raise just over twelve dollars for Relay for Life.

Of course, Kelly and I agreed to do this to help a noble cause and fight cancer but we also recognized it as yet another way to increase Senate awareness and a fun way to spend an hour of our Friday night. The exposure to people who knew nothing of Senate was amazing and at the same time it showed a side of Senate not characteristic of the last administration. We again heard comments praising Senate for being involved in another event and we felt good doing so.

 

Leadership Training Seminar for new Multicultural Organization Leadership - May 10th, 2009

The training seminar for the new leadership of multicultural organizations has its precedent in last year's joint Senate and SPC seminar. This seminar helped to teach the new leadership to know who they need to contact for different concerns or problems on campus while also providing them with the information for essential organization practices such as applying for Senate Budget Appropriation funds. Through teaching these leaders the processes for what they need to do, we hope to forge stronger bonds with their respective organizations while also making it easier for all of them to be informed and involved. Many of the leaders of these organizations are international students who are unfamiliar with the way we do things here so this seminar was provided thanks in large part to the efforts of Kendra Hearn, our Secretary of Multicultural Affairs, in order to help them along and be sure they have the best ONU experience possible.

 

Dorm Storm IV - May 11, 2009

This final Dorm Storm of the year went off without a hitch. Although we had two new people at the Communications position that typically handles this event, we had two veteran Cabinet members help out as well. These two veterans had handled two Dorm Storms prior to this one and knew the numbers for each residence area, how to split up the candy and newsletters, and how long it would take to accomplish the Storm in each area. This quarter, for the first time, we were able to hand out our newsletter as well and we felt it was a major success. The dispersion of information that this allowed us to do was immense, which is the reason for these Dorm Storms in the first place. We received great comments on our newsletter, The Representative, and we will be continuing this practice into each Dorm Storm this coming year.

 

 

Senate Bonding Events:

Just like in any organization, bonding in one of the most important activities an organization can engage in because it helps your members be more productive and comfortable.

 

Cabinet Retreat - April 24th and 25th, 2009

As mentioned in the first couple pages, the Cabinet retreat was a very good bonding event. All but one Cabinet member attended at some point during the retreat, so it was again a very successful bonding experience. The retreat began on Friday night with a dinner at the Main Street Bistro in Lima, Ohio and then continued with a session at the Wingate by Wyndham hotel also in Lima. As I mentioned before, there was a group of us who stayed up into the wee hours of the morning before heading to bed and then waking up again for a morning session just a few hours later. Saturday consisted of a breakfast in the morning, a session until noon, and then lunch at Fat Jack's Pizza where additional bonding took place.

The entire mood of the retreat was positive and motivating. We allowed each member of Cabinet to create their own goals and objectives for their position as I have outlined above and this helped to create the atmosphere of tolerance and ownership. Through the retreat, many members of Cabinet learned new and intriguing things about others and this served to help forge close ties, and even friendships, among those who attended.

Senate Spring Olympics - May 5th, 2009

Spring Olympics was an event that was never intended to be in the spring. Originally, this event was meant to be during this past Fall Quarter, shortly after the Olympics in Beijing ended. However, because of weather they were postponed until winter. Then, there was nasty weather again for the day the Olympics were scheduled so the entire idea was scrapped again. However, the incoming Secretary of Senate Activities was committed to having a successful Olympics and as such scheduled one for May 5th. This one took place on a sunny day with a high of 69 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.

We had the involvement of about twenty Senators at the games who participated in various "Olympic Games" including an egg race, a three-legged race, and eating a donut off a tree without the use of hands. This bonding event helped to forge ties between Senators and Cabinet members that otherwise may not have been as strong, or formed at all. The event was a success and I look forward to similar events taking place in the fall as well!

 

Proposals Brought before General Assembly:

Because we are the representative body for the students, we also receive proposals from students who would like to see something changed. This quarter we received one such proposal.

 

Changing the Parking Policy - May 6th, 2009

This quarter we received a proposal from the Interfraternity Council to change the parking policy on the West End of campus with support from the freshman living in Founders Complex and 5 University Parkway. This proposal was very similar to one that was recommended to the Parking Committee this past Fall Quarter. That proposal was rejected by the Parking Committee because of the fact that it was not feasible to change the parking policy midway through the year. The proposal brought forth this year was to change the policy for next year and had a wider base of support than the original proposal. The language was less demanding and there was more interaction on the side of Senate that allowed for a more neutral shaping of the proposal.

 

Spring Quarter Projects:

These projects were ones that were undertaken or finished during this past quarter. They encompass various issues and all are positive steps toward the Senate we all envision it to be.

 

Continuous Achievement Scholarship

The inaugural awards of the Continuous Achievement Scholarship were awarded to recipients from each of the four undergraduate colleges at the Honor's Day Luncheon on May 9, 2009. This Scholarship recognizes students who have improved academically since their arrival at Ohio Northern while contributing greatly to the University community through leadership roles. Eligible students must have a minimum 3.25/4.00 cumulative GPA. Nearly four years in the making, the Continuous Achievement Scholarship was a long-awaited accomplishment for Student Senate. I personally received a Facebook message from former Student Senate President Meghan Davlin thanking me for continuing to push forward with this scholarship. I replied saying that I deserved no credit for this because it had been accomplished in the last administration, but that I would pass that message along to those that were involved with the process.

Though there were many starts and stalls along the way, the lengthy process has now culminated, as finalists have been selected. Countless past and present Senators have put considerable work and effort towards the creation of the Continuous Achievement Scholarship. Members of the Office of Financial Aid, Admissions, the four undergraduate colleges and the University Administration have also helped immensely in this process. Without these groups' hard work, vision and dedication, the Continuous Achievement Scholarship would not be a reality today.

 

Spring Newsletter - The Representative Volume 1, Issue 1

This newsletter is the first of its kind in the past few administrations. The Tundra Times was the last publication that Student Senate issued the last time in 2006. In the past administration, a newsletter was one of the top priorities but for many different reasons it failed to materialize.

This year, a concerted effort was made to ensure the newsletter did transpire and through the hard work and self-motivation of the Communications Secretaries, a newsletter was completed by April 29th and was submitted to the ONU print shop on April 30th. Probably the most contentious part of the entire process was naming the newsletter and while name after name was thought of, no consensus could be reached. Eventually a vote was held between a few members of Cabinet and "The Representative" was settled by a very narrow margin.

This newsletter is now the one that sits in front of you is the effort of multiple people from the Secretaries who added in their stories to the Communications Secretaries who put it all together. It will be the new official publication of Ohio Northern University's Student Senate and we will be continuing to publish The Representative throughout my term in office and will hand it out at each and every Dorm Storm we do.

 

Website Updates

One of the major undertakings this administration set out to achieve early on this quarter was a reformatting of the Student Senate website. After spending hours on the site finding improvements that should be made, I met with the Technology Advancement Committee to go over what we could possibly do. It was settled that we would pick a new theme, new colors, and new pictures for the website. Along with these aesthetic improvements, the Committee also changed the sidebar to be more user-friendly and we have continued to publish updated news stories as they occur. All of these changes have given Senate's site an updated look with a sleeker style and ONU colors while serving more purposes than simply a news outlet. The website also now has additional functions with finance forms, links to register for Welcome Fest, links to the list of student organizations on the ONU website, and biographies for the Cabinet, President, and Vice President pages. The website's URL was also shortened to simply senate.onu.edu for the ease of those wanting to visit.

 

Student-L Reform Process

The Student-L system currently in place is one of constant criticism and commonly is either redirected straight to the deleted items of students' mailboxes or is deleted immediately upon receiving it. As such, the Technology Advancement Committee has been working on getting focus groups together in order to present the finding to the Technology Committees on campus. Through the use of these focus groups, we hope to be able to gauge what sort of service the students would like for updates about the university and events on campus. There were choices presented to each focus group about various ways they could be informed and then the data was collected and presented to the appropriate staff on campus. The focus groups have not yet been conducted as of the deadline for this Board Report. Updates will be forthcoming.

 

Future Projects:

These projects are currently in the works but will not be completed until Fall Quarter. Welcome Fest is a traditional Senate summer project, but having a summer newsletter is something that has not been done before. We are excited that our Cabinet members are motivated enough to continue working in the summer and we look forward to the end products!

 

Summer Newsletter - The Representative Volume 1, Issue 2

In order to continue on with our official Senate publication, the Communications Secretaries will be working over the summer to come up with a newsletter to give out during the second week of Fall Quarter when we host our Senate Awareness Week Dorm Storm. Again, self-motivation will be the key factor in making sure this newsletter is accomplished. Though there will be less to talk about during the summer term, having a newsletter available that recaps the changes in the University, looks forward to upcoming events, and provides information about Senate especially to incoming freshman is just as important as one that recaps an eventful quarter.

 

Welcome Fest 2009 - September 7, 2009

Welcome Fest will be on September 7th this year, the first Monday before classes as usual. Registration for the event ended on May 20th and we anticipate having a very large amount of organizations there again this year. Last year's Welcome Fest was the most successful in recent memory and we hope to top it again this year. The outgoing Secretary of Campus Organizations, Kaitlyn Bennett, has been immensely helpful with our current Secretary Nichole Stan and has given her all the necessary details in making sure this event will be successful.