 "Photo: Sarah Day")
 "Photo: Daniel Leal")
The aroma of pizza and breadsticks filled the Fiesta Room in Loftin Student Center Oct. 29 during “Pizza With the President,” sponsored by the Student Government Association.
The informal event allowed students to sit down and eat free pizza and ask administrators any questions they wanted to. SGA sponsors the event to give students an opportunity to talk one on one with administrators, said Julianne Cantu, association president and political science sophomore.
Administrators who attended the event were President Robert Zeigler; Dr. Jessica Howard, vice president of academic affairs; David E. Mrizek, vice president of college services; and Dr. Robert H. Vela Jr., vice president of student affairs.
The first questioner asked if tuition rates would go up or down. Zeigler said he was unsure if tuition rates would go up, but chances are they would change.
Vela advised students to map out their degrees for the next two years to spread out the money they will need to spend.
Degree plans were on the top of the list for some students. One student wanted to know what was the quickest degree to obtain in the medical field.
“Quickest way would be to get an LVN degree. St. Philip’s College has an LVN program, but you can get a degree here as well,” Zeigler said, referring to the nursing education department, which trains registered nurses.
Students asked if new parking spaces would be available. Zeigler said new spots will be available at the former motor pool, at Lot 17 on Main and Locust streets across from Myrtle Street, in 30 days. South of campus, additional parking spaces will be available, but Zeigler did not know when specifically.
The concern over having more bike racks around campus also was expressed. A student said many bike racks on campus were old or locks were easily broken into and destroyed.
“The issue about getting more bike racks is an issue we need to work on,” Mrizek said. “I’m going to go back and do more investigating to find out more.”
Howard addressed a student’s concern over classes being killed at the last minute when not enough students have registered for the class. In this situation, the student was put in a higher-level class that she was not prepared for.
“Sometimes departments know weeks in advance if classes won’t make. We don’t like to wait that long to see if classes make,” Howard said. “Unfortunately, your class suffered.”
SGA faculty adviser Dawn L. Elmore McCrary said the next “Pizza With the President” will be in spring 2010. After new commissioners are in place, they will work with Zeigler to set a date.
The next event hosted by SGA will be “Chili With the Chairs” on Dec. 3 in the Fiesta Room; the time was not yet available.
Zeigler said if students have any questions, they should call in from 7:30 a.m.-8 a.m. Thursdays at campus radio station KSYM, 90.1 FM, where he will be on air to take students’ calls. The radio station’s phone number is 486-KSYM.
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