Small steps toward change

Ohio Wesleyan’s digital infrastructure, students’ financial obligations and ice cream all made it onto the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA) agenda Monday, Feb. 23.

Junior Emma Drongowski, vice president of WCSA, began her report to the full senate on an economic matter. Due to the fact that “enrollment [is] going down, [but] clubs stay the same,” the administration is beginning talks to increase the student activity fee, a component of OWU’s general tuition statement. This money would go towards supporting the many clubs funded by WCSA.

From money matters, Drongowski moved on to soft-serve ice cream. Requests for ice cream machines have been common over the past few years. Now the potential for an ice cream machine in one or more of the OWU dining facilities is being discussed by executive members of WCSA, something they are “really passionate about.”

The campus relations report focused on a hashtag competition that is currently being organized. The winning prize for the competition, an Amazon gift card, was also announced. A date for the beginning of the competition has not been set.

The campus relations committee made clear their intention of setting up a table in the Hamilton-Williams Atrium. The WCSA senators who man the table will receive feedback from students about proposed changes to the academic calendar. The responses from the Thursday, Feb. 19 tabling were too varied for a consensus to emerge.

Testing is underway for an information technology hotline, aimed at documenting internet outages and dead zones across campus. The number will be distributed after WCSA senators use the service this week on a trial basis. Text messages to the number will be sent to the Information Systems office in an attempt to reduce the wait time on internet-outage repairs.

The final announcement before the full senate adjourned was made by Dean of Students Kimberlie Goldsberry. She reported that the last week to complete a survey on sexual assault began today (Feb. 23). Participation in the survey is now at 24 percent, four percent higher than last Monday’s (Feb. 16) rate.