Observer the
APRIL 3, 2014 VOLUME XXXIII, ISSUE 5
www.fordhamobserver.com
Photo Feature
CSA Airs Commuter Grievances By TYLER MARTINS Arts & Culture Co-Editor
On Thursday, March 13, the Commuter Student Association (CSA) presented the members of the College Council with a list, titled “10 Things Commuter Students Would Like Professors to Know About Us.” The list details certain issues that commuter students at Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) deal with regularly. “We represent the commuter students of FCLC who, like most of you, commute to Fordham,” the list reads. “Here are a few things we would like to share about ourselves.” The issues are broad, ranging from familial obligations and train troubles to “competing demands on our time.” CSA Treasurer Christina Dellaporte, FCLC’ 15, drafted the list after having been approached after a College Council meeting by Associate Chair of Sociology Jeanne Flavin. “[Flavin] was worried that she doesn’t always understand some of the struggles that commuters have,” Dellaporte said. Flavin suggested that Dellaporte create a list documenting many of the issues that commuters face. “I asked everyone who came [to CSA meetings] to write down a few things that they wish professors would know or something they struggled with about commuting,” Dellaporte said. According to Dellaporte, approximately 20 commuter students attend each CSA meeting. “I read through all of them and there was actually a consensus among some of them and I put this together.” After the list was completed, it was reviewed by the CSA executive board and reviewed by various faculty members, including some in the Office of Student Leadership and Development (OSLCD). “Anything we can do to help any of our students, and in this see COMMUTERS pg. 2
JESSICA HANLEY/THE OBSERVER
The Observer photographers brought their cameras with them and documented the adventures they had over Spring Break.
Glitch in System Causes Housing Overflow By RAMONA VENTURANZA News Co-Editor
Freshmen students at Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) addressed their issues when registering and signing up to dorm in McMahon Hall for fall 2014. Such problems with the registration process caused students to be put into housing overflow. In early March, students who wanted to dorm in McMahon Hall were required to choose their roommates and register for a room. However, for certain students, the process of registering their selected rooms and roommates was especially difficult and caused many
to be forced into overflow. Director of Residential Life Jenifer Campbell was not available for comment. According to resident Heath Hampton, FCLC ’17, housing overflow is when students are chosen randomly from a large pool of other students, to then be placed in a room to dorm together. “When we’re in overflow, it would be unlikely that we’d get to room with the group of people we want to room with next semester.” Maria Pely, FCLC ’17, said that it was hard to register for a room with a select group of people because there did not seem to be enough rooms available at McMahon. “Registering for housing was
very competitive this semester,” she said. “For my situation with my friends and roommates, there was not enough room for the six of us in a six-person dorm. If there is not a room for my friends and I, then we would be forced into housing overflow.” Anabelle Declement, FCLC ’17, agrees with Pely in how difficult it was to register with her group in a certain room. “I feel like [Residential Life] did not open up a lot of rooms for us to register to dorm.” According to students who signed up to dorm in McMahon, there was a glitch in the computer program, which was used to help students register and sign up for
rooms with their groups. Housing policy only permits groups of four students to sign up for a room that fits solely four individuals. However, the computer program’s glitch allowed groups of four to have access to register for a six-person dorm. “When students were registering, the computer program allowed for some groups of four people to be put into a room of six [people]. Six-person rooms were then initially filled with four people; this caused a lot of the rooms to get filled up quickly. If that happened, then [those students] would get dumped into see HOUSING pg. 2
Inside
LITERARY
SPORTS
ARTS & CULTURE
OPINIONS
Creative Writing Awards
Emily Tapio
“Labyrinth of Desire”
SAT Test Changing
Women’s Basketball star talks A-10 win.
FCLC Mainstage premieres April 3.
Changes in the test are a good first step.
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Creative Writing Prize Winners
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THE STUDENT VOICE OF FORDHAM COLLEGE AT LINCOLN CENTER