The Fordham Rose Hill United Student Government (USG) met on Thursday, Oct. 12, to discuss possible renovations to campus and new business.
John D. Puglisi, the associate vice president for facilities management, gave a presentation about facilities’ current projects and possible future projects. He explained they are currently working on their four-phase McShane Campus Center renovation plan; the first phase has already been completed and Marketplace is currently being renovated along with the second floor being reprogrammed. Puglisi stated the Marketplace has not been renovated since 2004 and that this renovation is long overdue. The facilities team is also working on façade restorations in both Faculty Memorial Hall (FMH) and Loyola Hall, and they are aiming for this work to be completed by Dec. 23, 2023. In addition to these two buildings, façade restorations at the University Church will be beginning next month. Lastly, there will also be a boiler plant restoration in Thebaud Hall.
Puglisi also presented some of their future large projects at Rose Hill, which include a new STEM facility for the biology, math, physics and computer science departments, extra dormitory space through renovating Faber Hall or building an entire new space and adding geothermal heating and cooling capacity in hopes of lowering their carbon consumption. He stated that water fountains and water bottle filler stations are planned to be in every dormitory building. He briefly mentioned that there has been talk about building a hotel near campus for students’ parents to be able to stay in but that plan is not official as of right now.
Puglisi ended his presentation by saying that the facilities department has many fun activities, and he said he hopes that students will look to them for internships and different career opportunities.
Kayla Velez, the assistant director for leadership and commuter student services, stated the lockers in McShane should be available for students this week, reminded everyone that Family Weekend is Oct. 27-29 and said Thanks-Give-Away is set to be on Nov. 17 and the Commuter Student Association (CSA) is holding open calls for DJs and performers.
Vice President of Student Life Brian Ingaunti, FCRH ’24, stated Keating Steps will officially be this spring and will possibly be around Spring Weekend. Vice President of Fordham College at Rose Hill Emma Balint, FCRH ’24, said that the FCRH Dean’s Council had their meeting with Dean Maura Mast, and Mast spoke about FCRH Dean’s Council potential future involvement in the core revision process. Balint also explained that Mast said they are reconstructing the class registration system, and the new system could be completed by the time students have to register for spring classes. Vice President of Operations Lauren Walczyk, FCRH ’25, reported that both budget and operation packets are due Nov. 2. Vice President of Gabelli Catie Flores, GSB ’25, said the GSB Dean Council’s Academic Subcommittee will be having a table on Oct. 30. Vice President of Sustainability Sean Power, FCRH ’24, stated the Native Plant proposal is done and they are now planning Sustainability Week. He also said that Fordham Flea has run out of storage so they will most likely need to present a budget request soon. The Facilities and Dining committee’s representative stated the food truck is currently on its way to campus and the USG Town Hall is planned for Oct. 24 in the Great Hall.
Senator Deborah Adebanjo, FCRH ’26, explained she is looking into creating a proposal for the tardy policy for commuter students and to possibly have some dorm lounges open to commuter students as well. Senator Karam Youseff, GSB ’26, reported he recently met with Julie Gafney, the assistant vice president for strategic mission initiatives/executive director for the Center of Community Engaged Learning, to continue his work on the MENA proposal and to discuss how Muslim and Arab can be better accommodated on campus.
Lastly, Senator Evan McManus, FCRH ’25, said he felt the USG should release a statement regarding the university’s response to the flooding on Friday, Sept. 29 as many students, specifically commuter students, were upset with how that situation was handled.
USG met on Thursday, Oct. 19 to discuss safety precautions on campus and new business.
Robert Fitzer, associate vice president for Fordham Public Safety, gave a presentation in which he discussed various safety precautions that students should follow and updates to the university’s safety measures. A new safety measure that has been added in every Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) cabinet are Naloxone (Narcan) kits which can reverse the effects of opioids. Fitzer also warned students to beware of internet scams such as artificial intelligent (AI) voice cloning, apartment scams and job scams.
McManus asked Fitzer about Public Safety’s response to the intense campus flooding from a few weeks ago. Fitzer explained that Public Safety normally has a meeting with other administrators to discuss the best course of action and precautions when large storms are projected. He stated that it was difficult to pivot their course of action because, by the time Governor Kathy Hochul issued the state of emergency warning at 11 a.m., they felt most people were either already on campus or, at the very least, in transit. Fitzer said they have to go on the reliability of their information and, in this case, the information came in late. Walczyk asked what students can do if they were physically unable to get to campus due to the flooding but their professors still counted it as an unexcused absence. He stated the students should contact their deans and ask them if they can help them with this issue.
Flores presented a budget request for the GSB’s Dean’s Council academic subcommittee’s tabling on Oct. 30. She requested funding for an order of donuts they can give out to students as an incentive for students to give their input on the Gabelli experience. Walczyk presented a budget request for food for her committee and Vice President of Health and Security Molly Ewing, FCRH ’25, presented a budget request for T-shirts for a future event. All budget requests were approved.
Walczyk stated both Budget and Operation packets are due on Nov. 2 and that clubs should reach out to their club liaisons about any questions or concerns about the packets. Inguanti said that he is currently planning for the McShane Art Show in McShane Gallery, and they are working on increasing advertising. Balint, announced that FCRH Dean’s Council’s undergraduate research subcommittee will be holding a panel on Nov. 2 for student’s to learn more about undergraduate research opportunities. Ewing stated she is working with the Vice President of Facilities and Dining Jamie Serruto, FCRH ’24, and Destination Dining on an upcoming event titled “Lets TACO-bout Consent.” Serruto said he is looking forward to the collaboration, and he is meeting with the construction workers about the progress with the Marketplace.
Senator Aidan Costella, FCRH ’27, asked Serruto if the Facilities and Dining team had considered adding any on-campus dining options for Halal students. Serruto said the new Marketplace is supposed to have a separate Halal station for students and faculty to enjoy.
