"IT REALLY IS CRUCIAL THAT WE AS STUDENTS FEEL LIKE THE QUESTIONS WE HAVE ARE HEARD BY THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO CHANGE THINGS." - LIBBIE TURNER On March 31, 2015, Harding University's Student Association held its first town hall meeting at in Cone Chapel. SA female international representative senior Stephany Ayestas led the meeting, but the town hall event was open to all students and faculty members with questions. "It's (now) in (the Student Association) constitution to have a town hall meeting every semester, but we hadn't done one that semester," Ayestas said. "The purpose was for students to tell us what was going wrong and for them to hear immediate feedback from a Harding official." The response team included 10 representatives from departments around the university. According to Ayestas, over 80 students attended the meeting to ask questions. The meeting lasted one hour and addressed 11 specific questions from students on various topics. "The Student Association is a liaison between students and faculty," Ayestas said. "Students need to know that steps are available for them to go and get answers." SA female junior representative Libbie Turner felt it was the SA's job to create an environment that fostered communication between the administration and the student body. "This year as a student a sociation we've stressed the importance of authenticity," Turner said. "lt really is crucial that we, as students, feel like the questions and complaints we have are heard by the people who have the authority to change things." Students at the meeting voiced their concerns over limited parking and the need for additional spaces to be added. Ayestas said since the meeting, the SA had worked with Harding officials to implement the changes necessary to solve the problem. Wayne Westerholm, deputy director of parking and transportation, and Craig Russell, director of public safety, addressed the students' concerns. "I was hoping to use this oppmtunity as a means to communicate information that I felt was important to the students, but I quickly realized that the students felt that there were other more important issues," Westerholm said. "This event really helped me change my perspective on the issues that students feel are important to them. I realized that a number of these problems also do not concern just one office, and I believe that this forum may have opened some doors for more interdepartmental communication." Additional parking spaces were added in front ofthe David B. Burks Heritage building to accommodate students' and staffs' parking needs.The extension of the parking lot required demolishing portions of the residential area on East Market Avenue. SA vice president senior Manuel Barrantes attended the spring 2015 town hall meeting as a student and observer. "(Before the town hall meetings) it was just people asking questions and getting straight meaningless responses," Barrantes said. "(This year) people were getting correct explanations and plans to solve their concerns. The students felt more at ease knowing the staff was aware of most issues and already had a plan in place to solve them." According to Barrantes, the SA planned to hold a town hall meeting every semester. The SA announced future meetings in advance during chapel and also promoted them on posters throughout campus. SA secretary senior Brent Hall said these meetings were crucial to give a voice to both the students and the officials. "Students can tend to talk about 'the administration' or 'Harding' as if we're being controlled by faceless strangers," Hall said. "Town hall meetings help put faces, people and stories in the place of job positions and rules. They're a reminder that these people care deeply about us." Ayestas believed future town hall 2 BO OH(; .\~ I Z .\T I O~ S
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==