At the AUSA Senate meeting last week, the Senate worked on the 2006-07 Senate Wish List which outlines goals for the future that include expanding and remodeling student space, making the campus a safer environment and increasing programs for diversity and social justice.
“We hope it will become a tradition for the Senate to create such a document so that over time we can evaluate what is important to students at the University of Denver and how well our concerns are being addressed,” said Sen. Lindsay Griffin, co-author of the bill.
The document includes a plan to renovate Penrose Library, as well as Driscoll Student Center, to create more areas where students and organizations can meet.
In an attempt to improve the safety of the DU campus, the document proposes having a full-time sexual assault and response coordinator, increasing shuttle access and making the image of Campus Safety more student friendly.
On the issue of creating diversity and social justice programs, the 2006-07 Senate Wish List states, “We would like to see the construction of programs which tap into our diversity of ethnicity, religion, nationality, academic interest and more.”
The 2006-07 Senate Wish List will become effective if passed by the Senate at tonight’s meeting.
In other business, the Senate discussed the new webcam program, which provides students that are going abroad with webcams. The program was created to allow students to feel more like a part of the DU community while they are studying abroad. Its funding bill was passed unanimously by Senate on April 24.
“We wanted students to be able to know what’s going on at DU when they are abroad and know that we still care about them,” said AUSA President Aaron Schwarzberg, who came up with the webcam idea at an admissions meeting last year.
Abroad students will not only be able to interact with other DU students, but see the campus as well. Cameras located throughout the campus will allow those abroad to see what is happening at places like Sturm Hall and the Ritchie Center.
Only about one-third of the students going abroad will receive the fully funded webcams, which are scheduled to arrive this summer. They will be chosen on a first-come, first-serve basis. The success of the program this year will determine if Senate will fund webcams for all abroad students in the future.
