|
Le n
visits with Senate Associate Editor
The
Student Senate recently took advantage of its opportunity to question
authority. College
President Julio Le n visited the Senate Wednesday, Nov. 13. Senators
asked him several questions involving Missouri Southern, including the
budget, possible university status, and the possibility of replacing the
turf at Hughes Stadium. Dr.
Larry Martin, vice president for academic affairs, and Dr. Jack Spurlin,
vice president for lifelong learning, also attended the meeting. Senate
officials this past week approved 11 questions for Le n. He was given a
copy of the questions to review before the meeting. Martin
said there will not be any changes in the foreign language and physical
science requirements in the near future. He also dispelled rumors the
College is considering requiring fewer core requirements for graduation. Le n
said he believes the College has a good chance of achieving
university status in the state legislature this coming session. We
have a new set of legislator already committed to filing the bill
already committed to filing the bill, he said. I am confident the
effort will be there. I think there is better than an even chance we
will. Le n
said he does not plan to lay off any faculty or staff for budgetary
reasons in the near future. We
have not intended to do that, because any time you let people go, the
quality of the education suffers, he said. Le n
said he was unsure whether tuition would increase for the coming
academic year. He did say, however, he was 99 percent sure there
would be no tuition surcharge assessed to students for the spring
semester. We
ran a substantial increase last year, Le n said. After everyone
[in the state] increased, we ended up only being second to the bottom.
Obviously, we are well aware of the impact this has on the pockets of
students and parents. Le n said he expects the financial situation
of the state to become worse. I
believe there will be another 10-15 percent withheld, he said. The
fiscal condition of the state is such that it does not look favorable. I
think a lot of it depends on the amount of the withholdings next year.
This situation is happening at every public college in every state of
the nation. We re in a deep recession, and we re not coming out of
it. Le n said the College will not buy a new turf with public funds.
He said the Southern Foundation is in the process of soliciting
donations for the project. If
we are able to raise that money...it needs to be done by March, he
said. If not, we will not play football at Fred G. Hughes Stadium. We
will play at Joplin, Webb City or Carl Junction high school. Andrew
McGowan, treasurer, informed senators there is currently $11,650
remaining in the Senate treasury. No allocation requests were submitted
for next week s meeting - the last of the semester. The Senate will meet again at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 20 in the House of Lords Room on the third floor of the Billingsly Student Center. |