By Chris Owens (Special to The Chronicle) The Student Affairs Committee of the University Senate met again to discuss the four most pressing issues that students are facing on campus: ID card replacement, residents getting locked out, the smoking ban and commencement speakers on Wednesday.
The Student Affairs Committee discussed the issue of Hofstra Card Services replacement fee for misplaced IDs. Students at Hofstra have to pay a $50 replacement fee for a third offense, unlike Columbia, Malloy, LIU, Stony Brook and Nassau Community students, who pay a maximum $25 replacement fee per lost ID.
“As if coming to Hofstra isn’t expensive enough,” said Andrea Vega, freshman film production major, “This school should get real.”
Similarly, residents have been getting locked out of their rooms more often. Public Safety is being called to open doors by a large number of students, which Public Safety sees as an inconvenience. There is a fee for calling Public Safety to open the doors but it is not enforced as of late. If this remains an issue, fees could be presented to repeat offenders.
The committee moved to a more pressing and controversial issue: the smoking ban on south side of campus. The Student Affairs Committee came up with solutions for the ongoing problem of the tenuous smoking ban enforcement.
They came up with a range of ideas including designated smoking areas, more “no smoking” signs and signs directing smokers to go off campus or to California Avenue, which is public space. If the problem of smoking on south side continues in the future, offenders could see fines enforced by Public Safety.
“This is a huge issue that affects where students live,” said sophomore Sam Angles, a legal studies and business major living on campus, “People need to hear about this.”
The Student Government Association hopes that by adding this issue to a ballot, more people will take presence in this matter and a solution can be reached. The Student Affairs Committee is also looking at other examples, like City University of New York schools that have implemented smoking bans.
The meeting concluded with the issue of having a student speaker at graduation this year. This will be discussed further at the next Senate meeting.
“We have a very strong student representation here,” said William Finnegan, senior and Chair of the Hofstra University Senate Student Affairs Committee, “I’ve worked with some members of the committee for years. They’re great [to work] with.”