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CATALYST
BRIEFS FL BALLOTS pg.
May 1, 2019 VOLUME XXXVIII ISSUE 11
New College of Florida's student newspaper
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Campus police respond to PCP concerns BY IZAYA GARRETT MILES The Campus Police Department (CPD) has been criticized by many students for its increased presence on campus. The larger, more important an event, the more the CPD is going to be involved, which can lead to frustrations among the student body. The recent issues with scheduled Palm Court Party (PCP), also known as Center Of the Universe Party (COUP), exemplify the issues that are most concerning: the CPD’s demands for security can be costly and intrusive as some students believe. Additionally, concerned students are seeking to change the nature of police-student interactions through the inclusion of Resident Advisors (RAs). With the issues surrounding PCP as a backdrop, the meeting between the student police liaisons and the CPD on Apr. 26 had an exceptional weight. On Apr. 14, there was an Emergency Towne Meeting called to discuss student concerns over the upcoming PCP. The CPD had raised the cost of security
for the upcoming PCP from $1,200 to They claim that the security presence ex$3,200 to cover the costs of the new se- ceeds what the number of people attendcurity firm they began working with in ing PCPs actually requires. “We were asked [at the meetAugust. With a smaller budget than before, the New College Student Alliance ing] about scaling back the security for the Graduation (NCSA) and the COUP,” CPD Office of StuActing Captain dent Activities “The discussion about Jennifer Coley and Campus Enpeople feeling intimidated said. “We’re not gagement (SA[u] going to be able CE) proposed or threatened by police to do that. There’s Paint[u], an alin general has not 700 wristbands ternative to the been brought to our being given out traditional PCP, for this event, which caused an attention.” we have to plan uproar among the for that…There student body. After the overwhelmingly negative response might be just 100 or 150 people that from students, with only 17 out of 130 show up but we do not know that.” Much of the rise in cost comes from poll responses being positive towards the event, it was decided to go forward with the CPD deciding to discontinue its prea traditional PCP which meant that cost vious relationship with US Security Associates (USSA) and hiring G4S to supwould continue to be an issue. Some students at the meeting were plement PCP security instead. “There were some complaints about seeking to lower the police presence during the PCP as a cost cutting measure. [USSA] coming from the library staff,”
CPD Captain Kathleen Vacca said. “Specifically about individuals and what they were and were not doing. Some of the students had some real concerns about a couple [USSA employees]...So we searched for another company that had a better reputation.” Despite student dissatisfaction over the recent increases in the cost of security, the CPD plans to stop paying its officers for overtime work done during PCPs next year. When the CPD no longer covers officer overtime, that too will need to be paid for by the NCSA. While this is standard practice among university police departments in Florida, the CPD had been paying this cost for years. Additionally, at the meeting, it was discussed whether RAs could be called by students to act as support and witnesses during interactions with the police. “If a student feels more comfortable with an RA being there they can contact
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First-year seminar program t0 begin Fall 2019 BY ADRIANA GAVILANES
https://doc-0k-18-docs. googleusercontent.com/ docs/securesc/s7jurnmk912se8sp3mgg3hd8llrh0uos/obdpo7fpcdn719co01n4qb7
For the fall semester of 2019, a First Year Seminar (FYS) program designed for first-year students will be introduced. In this program, there are 10 prospective FYS courses being offered, ranging within the different areas of concentration (AOCs) at New College. Each student participating in the course will have the support of an instructional team made up of three people: a primary instructor, the professor teaching the course, a partner instructor, a professor with a Master’s degree who is not a tenure-track faculty member, and a student Peer Leader. “The goals of the FYS are twofold: to build community and to help students in their transition from high school or another college to New College,” Associate Provost Suzanne Sherman said in an email interview. The program stemmed from the ad hoc Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), a part of New College’s goal to reaffirm accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Commission on College, happening in the next academic year. The
photo courtesy of New College Digital Collection
“The hope is that the FYS will improve student persistence and success...”
QEP committee—a combination of faculty and staff from Academic Affairs and Student Affairs—is hoping for the FYS to be a component of the QEP, after the approval of SACS. “President O’Shea directed the Provost’s Office to implement the pilot program of FYS this fall, and much of the planning for fall is being done by the ad hoc QEP committee,” Sherman said. “Instead of an approval process, both the
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work of the ad hoc QEP committee and the pilot program was directed by the President.” The QEP committee consulted with several groups, starting in October with the Educational Policy Committee (EPC). This meeting initiated the organization of several other meetings, where the committee brainstormed ideas and offered participants a platform to express suggestions to improve retention at New
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College. A series of meetings to flesh out the FYS program, conducted through the Provost Office and QEP committee, sourced opinions from an Open Dialogue meeting with faculty and students, another with Resident Assistants (RAs), with the New College Student Alliance (NCSA) and the Four Winds staff. The common theme of the potential benefits of offering first-year seminar courses arose from these meetings. The QEP committee presented models for FYS at the Division Meetings in January and received feedback. The FYS program is still in the process of finalizing the model that it will use for the next academic semester. “The hope is that the FYS will improve student persistence and success at New College,” Sherman said. “By success, I don’t just mean academic success, but also life success. A lot of colleges and universities have found benefits from such programs, and ours will be uniquely New College.” EPC Representative and third-year
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