The first General Assembly meeting of the semester for Temple Student Government Monday focused on the electronic Student Feedback Forms, minor changes to the allocations process and plans for the spring semester.
TSG Student Body President David Lopez opened the floor to student comments about the electronic Student Feedback Forms.
Students had both positive and negative comments for the electronic professor and course evaluation forms, which replaced the traditional paper evaluations last semester.
TSG Director of Recruitment and Retention Cree Moore commented that the electronic forms were easier because his courses were listed out and it was more convenient to type his comments.
On the other hand, several students said they simply forgot to fill out the forms or they felt that the feedback on the forms is not taken seriously.
Allocations Co-Chairs Rohan Wilson and Brett Wise introduced changes to the allocations process as it relates to Sodexo catering.
Student organizations are now required to submit the form three weeks prior to the event with an estimation of the catering costs.
“There were problems with Sodexo filling orders and then students not paying for the orders before the event, so Sodexo would come in and cater the event and then there would be no payment. They had to hunt down the organization and students.
The changes we made, though small, help to expedite the process and allows them to receive payment before hand,” Wise said.
This change is just one of many that Wise and Wilson have implemented this year.
“In the past there were guidelines; however, those guidelines were not being followed as strictly as they should have been,” Wilson said. “We have guidelines and we have them up front in our presentations and we just make it clear that we are following the guidelines. Any decision we make we refer to the guidelines.”
Wise, Wilson and Lopez believe that the changes to the allocations process not only make the process for transparent, but also fosters a better relationship between TSG and student organizations.
“In the past student organizations have not known what they could get allocations for, so they were just submitting applications and sometimes they would get it and sometimes they would not. Now, going into it they know what they can get approved for,” Wilson said.
In addition, Lopez and his administration highlighted three events for the spring semester: Owls on the Hill, formerly known as Cherry and White Day, the Kids-to-College program and the continuation of the Adopt-a-Block program.
TSG began recruitment for the Owl Academy, which will teach a small number of students about a myriad of topics related to higher education funding in preparation for Owls on the Hill on March 19.
Furthermore, Vice President of External Affairs Ofo Ezeugwu began accepting volunteers for the Kids-to-College program.
The student volunteers will serve on a panel that will talk with local middle school and high school students about Temple and higher education.
President Neil Theobald will address the General Assembly at the next meeting on Monday, Feb. 4th.
Laura Detter can be reached at laura.detter@temple.edu.
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