SGA hosts 2025 Town Hall

By Caroline Haviland

As the university juggles questions about its incoming president and the continuation of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, the Student Government Association took to the Cavalla Room on April 3 to host its spring 2025 town hall, in hopes to facilitate these concerns. 

SGA President Christina Natoli, a senior political science major, moderated the event to distribute the pre-submitted questions from students between the panel’s eight administrators: Rider President Gregory Dell’Omo, Provost DonnaJean Fredeen, Vice President of Enrollment Management Drew Aromando, Chief Diversity Officer Heeyoung Kim, Chief Financial Officer James Hartman, Vice President of University Operations Mike Reca, Vice President of External Affairs Kristine Brown and Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Nick Barbati.

Campus improvements

Natoli moved the conversation to ask a set of pre-submitted questions about efforts to improve campus outreach, in which Reca boasted about information kiosks coming this summer in various parts of campus, featuring general campus and security information to serve as a concrete source of knowledge, according to Reca.

The university plans to launch a new Rave app to serve as the campus notification system, which is set to come with a “walking blue light” component, according to Reca, allowing students to call and let Public Safety track them in a potentially dangerous situation.

In light of its newly appointed director, Matthew Babcock, Public Safety is aiming to make itself more approachable, with changes including new uniforms of khakis and polo T-shirts, new patrol cars and attending more on-campus events, said Babcock. 

In response to a question on a possible increase of weekend campus events, Barbati introduced a new committee created specifically to upgrade students’ experiences on the weekend. 

“[The committee] is geared for the next fall to revitalize and reassess what we’re doing from an activities point of view, with an emphasis on getting people to stay for the weekend and get more outlets for involvement,” said Barbati in an interview with The Rider News after the event. 

Department of Education impacts

The questions that followed reflected the growing concerns over the U.S. Department of Education’s influence on higher education and the student support services they offer. In regards to student financial aid, Aromando said Rider has not seen any changes “in the steps to fund the institution or provide the support [students] have received.”

Aromando mentioned he does not anticipate any differences, as the university has already received funding levels for the upcoming 2025-26 school year. 

Despite this year’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid application improving from an infrastructure standpoint, Aromando encouraged students to apply promptly due to lower staffing levels at the DOE. 

Moving to the topic of tuition affordability, Aromando persisted that students come to the financial aid office for support, saying they cannot receive additional funds if they do not initially reach out about their unique situation. 

“Whether it’s that your financial circumstances are changing or you’re concerned about any specific ability to afford the upcoming year, that is what the financial aid office is there for,” said Aromando. 

The scope of influence from the DOE affects DEI, which moved the conversation to the current federal legislation cutting back on DEI initiatives and its impact on Rider.  

The recent slashes to DEI in higher education come after a Feb. 14 “Dear Colleague” letter sent from the DOE ordering the end of all race-based education, programming, activities, opportunities and financial aid. 

Kim reassured the members in attendance that Rider has not changed any support for DEI programs, and the university will continue to allow faith and identity-based organizations and the celebration of cultural months.

Dell’Omo echoed the same sentiment, calling this an “ongoing process,” but assured the community that the administration is highly committed to keeping DEI as an integral part of the institution. 

The only event impacted by the “Dear Colleague” letter is the former “Multicultural Pre-Commencement,” now known as “A Ceremony of Unity, Legacy and Achievement,” due to its purpose being to highlight the accomplishments of graduating students of color, according to Kim. 

Classroom qualms  

Natoli led the discussion with a question for the provost regarding the amount of classes offered each semester, a topic of concern for students in smaller majors and minors. Fredeen correlated the number of students registering for each class to how many classes are available each semester. 

“We are doing our best to make certain that we are not offering extremely small class sizes. … It impacts what happens in the classroom. It’s extremely important to have a diversity in perspectives coming from our students,” said Fredeen. 

The conversation moved to a possible artificial intelligence policy coming to Rider, as AI has been a growing subject in academia over the past few years. 

An AI task force was composed in spring 2023 to address the university’s stance on the “pervasive” technology, according to Fredeen, but an agreement was not reached. 

Fredeen said students should know how to use AI to “help assist not replace,” but ultimately it is currently up to each department to set their own limits on AI usage.

Presidential search update

The submitted questions for the panel concluded with a request for an update on the search for Rider’s next president. 

Brown informed the audience of the search committee’s progress, saying “it’s moving fairly quickly,” and they have agreed upon a final list of contenders to present to the Board of Trustees. The final candidates are planned to meet with small groups of faculty, staff and students in the coming weeks. 

“Hopefully within a month or so, the Board of Trustees will make a final decision on the candidate they would like to make an offer to. … Assuming that they accept the offer, then we would move forward to announce the candidate,” said Brown. 

Natoli offered Dell’Omo a chance to make any closing remarks amid his nearing retirement in July.

“I would just encourage you guys, whoever this next president is, to welcome them in,” said Dell’Omo. “This is a community. … and it makes the job that much more pleasing and exciting when you know the work is being done for the people and not just business.”

Journey New is a copy editor for The Rider News and is student organizations committee chair for the Student Government Association. They had no part in the writing and editing of this story.