On Wednesday, Feb. 9 the Rose Hill Student Life Council  (SLC) held its first town hall meeting of the semester in the new student center. The SLC is comprised of representatives from the Residence Halls Association, Commuting Students Association, United Student Government, Campus Activities Board, Residential Life, Student Involvement, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Colleges, Faculty and the Dean of Students. The meeting was led by Arianna Chen, FCRH ’22, vice president of Rose Hill USG.

The meeting opened with public agenda items. While nobody submitted any items beforehand, several students presented questions to the council. The first item discussed was the installation of water fountains in the residence halls. The representatives from the RHA explained that the new water fountains and water bottle fillers had been purchased, but the installation processes were still in the preliminary stages. Their goal is to have them installed by the 2022-23 academic year.

Another student asked how Fordham’s COVID-19 policies would change considering New York has dropped the indoor mask mandate. Dean Rogers, the assistant vice president and dean of students at Rose Hill, said that the administration has been discussing the possibility of lifting some of the current safety measures. He explained that even with the omicron wave and the implementation of surveillance testing, the cases on campus have remained relatively low, so there is definitely a possibility they will lift some of the restrictions.

Thomas Reuter, FCRH ’22, president of  Rose Hill USG, suggested that Fordham could lift the mask mandate for smaller club gatherings, but keep it instated for class settings, so that at-risk students or students living with at-risk family members could still feel safe at school.

Another agenda item was the recent weather related closure on Feb. 4. Several students expressed frustration with the administration for the last minute closure, as many commuter students were already at school or on their way when they got the notification. Dean Rogers apologized for the inconvenience, but explained that, especially regarding weather closures, it is impossible to make decisions that work perfectly for everyone.

The final point of discussion surrounded the policy regarding food at club and residence hall events. Last semester, food served at events had to be individually packaged, but when students returned to campus this semester, food was prohibited from being served at events at all in January. Since Feb. 1, food has been permitted at events, however, it is unclear whether it still has to be individually wrapped. Nobody at the council meeting knew the current rules surrounding food at events, but advised students to opt for individually wrapped items.

The meeting concluded with updates from each of the SLC Members surrounding upcoming events and programming. The SLC will be holding these meetings monthly throughout the semester, and they encourage students to submit public agenda items for discussion.