Students lined Lawrence Hall’s ballroom Tuesday, Nov. 18, in hopes of discussing what they believe to be the university’s most pressing issues during a town hall hosted by SGA, as discussed during the weekly meeting on Dec. 1.
According to Communications Director Tatum Lucero, whose committee orchestrated the event, student testimonies filled up and even surpassed the hour-and-a-half timeslot allotted for the meeting.
SGA hosted the town hall hoping to hear directly from the Point Park student body about the thoughts and problems they had in mind concerning the university.
Lucero said first-year students primarily requested for more resources regarding campus contacts — who to call for certain situations and when to call them.
Communication between students and administration also seems to have raised concern among Point Park students.
Lucero described one particular instance students brought up: the dilemma of security being taken away with little to no explanation to students about why.
Another major topic discussed at the town hall was relating to CulinArt, the company which deals with the food for the school. Students principally advocated for more food quality and variety — and longer dining hours.
CulinArt’s food services have been a concern of the student legislature since at least 2023.
Questions about meal swipes were persistent during the meeting, such as “why can one only use a meal swipe at Bison Bites & Brews after 11 a.m.? Why is a meal swipe equivalent to $8 in the dining hall, $10 at Bison Bites, and $12 at Point Café?”
Students also voiced concern over the quality and upkeep of dorms, better pay for student workers and the availability of classes which are required for students to graduate.
SGA has pulled from both students’ and internally-voiced issues to put together a roster of initiatives to be taken on during the spring semester.
Each senator chose two initiatives they felt most drawn to which they would work on personally, which will be determined at the next SGA meeting.
These initiatives are: CulinArt food issues and hour; an initiative concerning maintenance workers, unexpected arrivals and long wait times; the sorting of archiving and rules; any dilemmas regarding clubs; the planning and implementation of Pioneer Community Week; the Multicultural Festival; the Communications Committee Town Hall; and volunteering.
As the semester comes to a close, SGA is finalizing planning and funding for the upcoming spring semester.
Winter funding requests are freshly opened, to be voted on during the legislature’s meeting on Dec. 8.
Next semester, students can expect the arrival of the Pioneer Community event, which has evolved from being just a day to a whole week of community events.
“We are going to be working together with the Center for Community Engagement and trying to get some different external partners for our meeting,” Chief of Staff Elliot Geary said.
According to Geary, next semester students can also expect to see a new director of downtown engagement starting, who is to be hired before the beginning of winter break.
The next SGA meeting will be held on Dec. 8 at 3:15 p.m. in Lawrence Hall 200.
