Tropical warnings issued for Gulf Coast see State & Nation, page 4
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Jaguars seek win in season opener see Sports, page 5
BOS OK’s athletics fee hike Billy Washington The Southern Digest
Samantha Smith
The Southern Digest
Deal page 3
Monday
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Faculty reps discuss pact
See Faculty
Sunday
Volume 57, Issue 2
The Digest will return Friday, Sept. 9
Southern University Faculty Senate Thursday discussed the conditions of the faculty furlough agreement and the possible outcome if such an agreement is not reached, in the Henton Room of the SmithBrown Memorial Union. A sense of urgency was felt as the Faculty Senate President, Sudhir Trivedi, presented a draft of the conditions for the proposed faculty furlough. Most of the faculty, who attended the meeting was not willing to accept any furlough deal that did not include additional furloughs of the administration and unclassified staff members. The faculty has until Friday at 1pm to accept the proposal, before the board of supervisors will take a vote in favor or not in favor of declaring financial exigency. Chancellor James Llorens has said in local media reports that at least 90 percent of the faculty must agree to a furlough plan in order to avoid exigency. “Practical magic is the only thing they request of us,” says faculty senator Diola Bagayoko, “To vote on this document for speedy transmittal to the faculty so that we can have them sign before exigency is declared,” Bagayoko said. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, declaring financial exigency basically acknowledges that the university cannot meet it contractual obligations and allows it to take unusual cost saving steps, like firing tenured faculty members. Financial exigency, if declared, may have lasting implications for the university and SU system. Declaring exigency could tarnish the reputation of Southern University and make it difficult to attract future students and faculty. SGA President Demetrius Sumner said, that declaring financial exigency will have a negative effect on student
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Today
photo by norman j. dotson jr./digest Diola Bagayoko speaks with the Faculty Senate Thursday about possible actions to take after today’s Board of Supervisors meeting. The board will decide whether or not to declare a financial emergency at the meeting.
Faculty Senate approves revisions to furlough plan Norman J. Dotson Jr. The Southern Digest
Disarray in the Faculty Senate did not halt business getting taken care of in Thursday’s meeting. The senate made a decision to disseminate a draft of the furlough plan that the senate revised in order to come to some sort of agreement with SUBR administration. The senate voted almost unanimously for the dissemination of this revised plan with only one abstaining vote. The Board of Supervisors today will make a decision on whether or not to declare financial exigency during a 1 p.m. meeting. The faculty senate’s hope is that they can get enough signatures from the faculty to present to the board in order to prevent the university from taking those measures. This agreement came after nearly two hours of deliberations, arguments, and open revising. Senate member Anthony Igiede expressed his anger about the indecisiveness of the senate and the confusion caused by having too many
different drafts of this plan circulating around. “I am starting to get frustrated here. Here we are yet again with different drafts of the same document bickering and arguing about them instead of making a decision on what to do,” Igiede said throwing his hands up grasping the varying documents. Many faculty members in attendance felt the same frustration and confusion, as they would constantly ask which page the senate was working on throughout the meeting. Senate president, Sudhir Trivedi, informed the faculty senate that if financial exigency were declared that he would file a federal injunction against the Board of Supervisors for not following the proper procedures that are outline in the board’s bylaws. “If you look at the bylaws it clearly states the procedures for filing for financial exigency and when you look at them you see that the board has not done any of those things they themselves have created,” said Trivedi. “I encourage that those members who are a part of the union seek out
assistance from their lawyers.” The bylaws list the proper sequence of events in order for the board to file for financial exigency. The bylaws state that the chancellor for the campus shall establish a process to assess the degree of the financial exigency or emergency with input from personnel throughout the campus or unit; oversee the development of a plan to address and manage the budget to eliminate any possible deficit by the close of the fiscal year; and supervise the development of a mechanism for reduction in force and/or reduction in status of personnel that provides for academic and non-academic staff input, and for due process and appeal rights for all affected employees, among other things that have not been done. The major concern from the senate is that they want to be sure that if they take a cut that the administration take at least that amount. “Until we get a document stating that the administrators See Revised
Plan page 3
the official student newspaper of southern university and A&m college, baton rouge, louisiana
Southern University Board of Supervisors held a system meeting along with their retreat in Shreveport, La., on the Southern University-Shreveport campus to discuss various items surrounding the Southern University System, including the increase in the students’ athletic fee, and the update of the registration process at SUBR. “The SGA proposed the fee prior to the upcoming spring semester. Starting in the spring the student athletic fee will increase to $190 per semester,” said Demetrius Sumner, SGA President and student member of the Board. “This fee will generate $382,000 for the Athletic department for the fiscal year,” said Sumner. The fee increase will also generate between $4.5 to 5 million over the course of five years. The fee increase also carries an expiration date, meaning the fee will return to the normal $140 fee after 5 years. The student affairs committee also discussed the admission, registration and financial aid processes at the SUBR campus. “We will work on creating a strategic plan surrounding recruitment, management and procedure,” said Sumner. The plethora of continuous troubles involved with the registration process are well known to students, faculty, and staff. “This process could be faster,” said Lavetta Chaisson a 21-yearold sophomore nursing major from Crowley, La. “They should have more staff in here (Seymour Gym). This is my fourth day here. There is a serious lack of communication between the students and the financial aid department. All I needed was an additional loan and I couldn’t add it on Banner,” said Chaisson. There are also rumors circulating around campus concerning refunds being disbursed on September 8th or in October rather than the previously scheduled Sept. 22. “It’s purely a rumor. The Sept. 22 anticipation date is still a pretty good date for students to receive their refunds,” said Sumner.