The Jan. 24th meeting started at 6:00 pm with the Land Acknowledgement speech, roll call, and minute revisions. The ongoing discussion surrounding financial aid continued; Jason Piazza has changed positions from Financial Aid to Benefits Nav, Director(s) of Finance are looking to make financial aid more accessible to students, and Rob Gibson is focusing on financial aid for student athletes.
President Bailey was unable to join the meeting, as he is currently traveling for meetings, but he will return for the Town Hall meeting on February 2nd.
RHA gave another notice for the Winter’s A Drag event, which will be held Feb. 11 from 7-11:30 pm in the Rogue River Room.
ROTC’s recent Cupcakes and Consent event had a great turnout. Be on the lookout, as ROTC is planning another event for the Bataan Memorial Death March, and you can learn more at bataanmarch.com.
With Athletics, the Outdoor Program is looking to have a kayaking event.
Towards the end of the meeting, Holly Gabriel gave a presentation for Open Educational Resources: teaching materials- such as textbooks, lecture notes, audio clips, etc.- ranging from low cost to zero cost. The proposed goal is to have 25% of lower division classes using low/no cost teaching materials within the next two years.
Gabriel presented statistics taken from a state-wide poll conducted from March 1st to March 18th in 2022. Five Oregon institutes participated in the poll: PSU, OSU, MHCC, WOU, and SOU. 1,306 students were invited. The questions in the poll surrounded student finances and how they acquired their textbooks;
–How did you reduce textbook costs last term?
The top three responses were buying from another book store, renting a digital copy, and renting a print copy.
–If you could spend the money you used on textbooks or access codes to buy something else, what would you buy?
The top three responses were food, rent, and bills.
With the focus on lower division classes, the financial stress on newer students would lessen as more classes switch to OER. The use of OER would vary with each degree, such as Digital Cinema.
The meeting moved forward with the Student Trustee, Mimi Pieper, and her approval to re-run for a second term. One avenue of student life Pieper has focused on is mental health, and has reached out to students to gain their insight on the matter. Pieper has communicated the student voice to the Board and addressed important issues, such as unconscious bias within Board members. The ASSOU members took a vote and approved Piepers request to rerun for a 2nd term.
As the meeting neared its end, two final announcements were made: a reiteration of Rick Bailey’s return for the upcoming Town Hall Meeting, as well as the Bodylogues art showcase event. Bodylogues will feature art of any form (poetry, paintings, movement, etc.) relating to the body and experiences surrounding it. The event will be held March 1st from 6-8 pm in the Rogue River Room. After the customary kudos, the meeting was adjourned at 6:51 pm.
