Five Committees Committed to You 

To-go cups. Wi-Fi connection. New testing center. 

These are just a few of the topics that were touched on at the first Student Senate Committee Meeting of the semester on Sept. 19. at the Rogers Nursing and Health Science Building. 

Student Senate officers came together with students to hear about issues on campus. The Student Senate Committee Meetings are a monthly open forum where students can come in and sit with their peers to discuss what they think are the issues on campus. 

“This is a unique opportunity that we do once a month,” said Lauren Tyler, director of Student Life. “We inbox certain administrators to come and students from, you know, representing all kinds of different organizations. It’s open to all students just to have an open conversation about things that are going on, and maybe give Student Senate an opportunity to take those to administration to hopefully find solutions.”

There are five committees representing different aspects of campus life and services. The committees include the Health and Safety, Academic Affairs, Building and Technology, Keep TJC Beautiful, and Constitution and Bylaws. The committee chairs listen and take notes on what the students are saying and prepare a report to send to the administration to inform them what issues are on students’ minds, Tyler said.

“It doesn’t do any good if we just sit around and complain about it, right,” Tyler said. 

All students are welcomed and encouraged to come be part of the meetings to let their voice be heard.

“Student Senate really just wants to serve the voice of the students, right. And so, whatever that topic may be, big or small, we want to help them out,” Tyler said. The next committee meeting will be held in October. More information can be found about Student Senate and committee meetings on the Student Senate homepage on the TJC website.

^{Health and Safety}

The Health and Safety Committee focused on getting feedback from students who attended. Some of the suggestions students provided included accessibility and mobility issues, and increasing food options. But the most voiced issue concerns the downsizing of to-go beverages cups at the cafeteria.  

Seven students discussed grief about the size of drinks for to-go meals being reduced from 16 ounces to a smaller size that was available from last year. Students also discussed not being allowed to bring personal bottles in the dining area. 

Several students voiced concern about TJC compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Specifically, ADA push buttons doors not functioning correctly and concerns about broken sidewalks. 

Another topic discussed was the amount of lighting surrounding the campus at night. 

Other topics brought up included increased food options on campus, additional mental health resources and additional crosswalks by residential areas. According to Meagan Gourlay, Student Senate public relations officer, the suggestions will be taken to the rest of the senate to discuss.  

• Accessibility and mobility issues
• Nighttime lighting
• Dining options
• Mental health resources

^{Building and Technology}

The Building and Technology Committee’s prime concern is to be made aware of structural   problems on campus. There were two major issues discussed in this meeting. Those issues were how to report structural problems on campus, and the Wi-Fi connection on campus. Director of Facilities and Construction, Larry Hatton, said to submit tickets through the TJC website if any student had an issue they’d like to report. Regarding Wi-Fi, it was discussed, but no clear resolution was made. 

“I Lived in Crossroads last semester, and I would literally never do my homework in the dorm,” Alaya Russell, early childhood development major, said.

“Put tickets in if you need a request for any building or Wi-Fi issues,” Hatton said.

TJC’s Master Plan was also discussed. 

^{Academic Affairs}

“The Academic Affairs Committee promotes academic success by bringing ideas or addressing the academic resources such as tutoring workshops, or other academic issues or procedures here at TJC,” said John Huss, Academic Affairs Student Senate parliamentarian, as he opened the floor to students and staff to voice their comments and concerns at the committee meeting. These are some items addressed during the meeting. 

• There are now two testing centers. The testing center in the Rogers Student Center is still available to students for TSI testing. The new testing center, named Testing Center of Academic Exams, is in the library. Students can sign up to take online tests for online classes by appointment. There are a limited number of seats available. For more information, visit the Testing Services page on the TJC website. 
• Workshops and tutors for various subjects are available to students through the Learning Commons. Find them on Instagram @tjclearningcommons.

^{Keep TJC Beautiful}

The Keep TJC Beautiful Committee discussed bringing recycling back to campus with the students’ help. At the committee meeting this Tuesday, students raised the question of a recycling program. Student Senate member, Saquib Siddque, said the current plan is to assign one recycling trash can to each student organization. Each week, one member from each organization will be picked to collect the recycling from their assigned can. That member will then bring the recycling to the grounds supervisor where the recycling will be sorted and transported to the Tyler Recycling Collection. This plan will be based on student initiative. Student organization members will be subject to receive community service hours for taking the recycling. Some students have suggested customizing each recycling can by the organization members.

^{Constitution and By-laws}

Kara Wofford, the Student Senate freshman president, reviewed the by-laws concerning the Student Life posting guidelines. No significant changes were made, and no student or faculty member opposed the changes.

• Addition of ‘student life board’ plaque being added to bulletin boards discussed.
• Addition of posting rule information or QR code containing rules at designated bulletin boards discussed.
• Question of fairness concerning Homecoming points system in relation to organization member count discussed, no changes made.

These reporters contributed:

Cash Dwyer

Marissa Krnavek

Krilon Marsh

Baleigh Davis 

Al Davila

Halee Hasten