Students air questions, concerns at SGA town hall

By Jake Tiger

Around 60 students packed into Rue Auditorium, bringing an array of questions to fire at a row of Rider’s top administrators. 

The Student Government Association’s student town hall on Nov. 14 covered a buffet of topics in about 80 minutes, with students voicing their questions, comments and concerns on Rider’s upcoming shift in leadership, parking changes, on-campus renovations and more.

On the stage, SGA Executive Vice President Michael Deem Jr., a junior film and television major, managed the event, lobbing student-submitted questions to the panel of six administrators: Rider President Gregory Dell’Omo, Provost DonnaJean Fredeen, Chief Diversity Officer Heeyoung Kim, Public Safety Director James Waldon, Vice President of Enrollment Management Drew Aromando and Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Nick Barbati.

After the questions submitted prior to the event were answered, audience members passed around a microphone for students to offer additional queries and feedback. 

Parking queries

Deem said parking was a “very popular” topic among students, as a feeling of frustration has mounted around ticketing and paid parking passes, the latter becoming a requirement for students in fall 2023 costing $125 per semester.

Waldon said to The Rider News after the town hall that there has been “no intentional effort” by Public Safety to more heavily enforce parking regulations.

Deem read a submitted question to Waldon about the increased rates for parking fines and violations, as there was confusion as to when the change occurred. Waldon said communication was sent out about the new rates via an email on Oct. 4.

“I was trying to limit the number of emails that were sent out, because I know a lot of people don’t open up and read emails, so I was trying to squeeze a lot of information into one email,” Waldon said. “I’m definitely open to suggestions about how to communicate better.”

Freshman public relations major Vincent Piraino asked about the process for appealing tickets and if there was a grace period for new students.Waldon said there is a grace period each academic year of about two to three weeks, giving students time to obtain their parking passes and figure where they are allowed to park.

As for appealing a ticket, Barbati said the process goes through the Dean of Students Office, where each case is evaluated.

Change of power

Between Dell’Omo’s retirement announcement and the recent formation of Rider’s presidential search committee, students had questions for the outgoing president, as Rider’s change in leadership during a trying time in higher education has students concerned.

Rider and many other institutions are in a period of financial hardship as they continue to rebound from the pandemic and brace for a nationwide “enrollment cliff,” according to Dell’Omo. Some schools, like Pennsylvania’s Cabrini University and the University of the Arts, have closed as a result.

During the town hall, Dell’Omo said there was “no concern” regarding closure.

“We are continuously looking at the budget of the university, how we operate,” Dell’Omo said. “It’s an ongoing process. … In today’s age, as we’re seeing a lot of fluctuation in [enrollment], we have to have a very conservative budget structure that allows us to have the flexibility we need.”

Rider’s financial situation will challenge the new president following Dell’Omo’s retirement next summer. Trustee Joe McDougall, chair of the presidential search committee, said to The Rider News in early November that “firm financial stewardship” was one of four main characteristics Rider’s next president should have.

Former SGA President Naa’san Carr asked if there were any updates regarding the transition to Rider’s next president, to which Dell’Omo replied he was “probably the least involved person in that process.” However, the president did say that the search committee planned to meet for the first time during the week of Nov. 18.

“Rider’s in a good spot in terms of the amount of time [it has] to be able to attract people,” Dell’Omo said. “There’s plenty of time to identify candidates, get to narrowing the process down, invite candidates to campus to meet the university community and, hopefully, by the time I leave, they have selected somebody.”

Current SGA President Christine Natoli asked Dell’Omo what he would miss and what his plans were during his final months at Rider.

“What I’m really going to miss and what I look forward to is just attending as many activities on campus,” Dell’Omo said. “The reason I got into higher education is that I love the concept of a college campus. … To be able to partake in that and see [students] grow through their intellectual and out-of-class experiences, that’s really been powerful.”

Renovating Rider

Walter Eddy, executive director of planning and construction, answered questions pertaining to facilities and campus improvements, as Vice President of University Operations Mike Reca was off campus, Dell’Omo said.

Eddy discussed recent on-campus renovations, including residence hall updates, the wrestling team’s new practice facility, the Cavalla Room’s facelift and the relocation of the Rider Rock. He also touched on some changes that could come to campus in the near future, namely renovations for Conover Hall and information monitor installations around campus.

According to Aromando, the delayed renovations for Conover Hall, initially scheduled for summer 2024, will take place in summer 2025. The university plans to open Conover Hall for the fall 2025 semester, when its two-year residency requirement begins. The new rule will only apply to incoming students; all current students will be unaffected.

Conover Hall was closed for the fall semester after the university determined it was not needed to accommodate its volume of residential students; without it, Rider’s residence halls reached 98% capacity overall, Aromando said.

Eddy said the university is hoping to install information monitors across campus, which will display important information and upcoming events on Rider’s high-traffic walkways.

In an April interview, Aromando said they would look like the directories found in a shopping mall, and one proposed location was the four-way intersection between Anne Brossman Sweigart Hall and the Franklin F. Moore Library.

Lastly, Rider is looking into a mobile blue light system, where people on campus can use their personal devices as emergency blue light phones.

Bringing back debates

As recent election results are finalized and processed by the community, Fredeen expressed a desire to bring organized debates to campus, serving as an outlet for constructive political dialogue during a divisive time.

In an interview with The Rider News after the town hall, Fredeen said debates were particularly important to her as someone who competed in debate and public speaking contests as a high schooler         in Texas.

“I would love to be teaching more about debate on campus,” Fredeen said. “You could start with topics that … are not as emotionally upsetting to our students to help introduce them to the idea of discussing difficult topics and then being able to    move on.”

Fredeen mentioned that Rider had an April Fools’ Day debate several years ago, with one side arguing that the turkey should be America’s national bird, and the other side defending the bald eagle.

The recently university looked into debate organizations Bridge USA and Brave Angels, Fredeen said in an email to The Rider News. According to each group’s website, the organizations aim to depolarize politics and promote the understanding of both sides of an issue.

Fredeen said both organizations could be created on campus if students are interested, and she noted that Rider does not currently have a debate team.