Alexandra Gross
It was a theme that has been repeated by many politicians throughout the country, from Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell to newly inaugurated President Barack Obama. That theme: the struggles people face in the current economic crisis.
FUSA President Jeffrey Seiser joined those ranks during his State of the University address on Monday night in the Barone Campus Center in front of more than 50 students and a handful of administrators. It was one of many points he made, but it was the one that hit the hardest.
‘ It came toward the end of his speech, as Seiser stressed the importance of ‘keeping our community together,’ in the difficult economic times that the student body, their families and the entire nation are facing.
‘I am sure difficult decisions are going to need to be made regarding various University projects,’ said Seiser in his speech. ‘But a project being delayed in exchange for students being able to stay at Fairfield is a trade worth making.’
Each year the FUSA president makes a similar statement, although Seiser emphasized from the beginning that he was not simply informing students on the status of FUSA, but on Fairfield University and its community as a whole. He used the opportunity to discuss what he and FUSA have done and what they, along with the University administration and students, plan to do during the remainder of the semester.
This event was both a recap of his job so far and in essence the start of his re-election campaign.
While the attendance was not as great as Seiser may have hoped, his message remained a strong one, that it has been and will remain his goal to put the student’s voices that he represents in the heads of the administration. Whether that means helping students stay at the University by encouraging the increase of financial aid or helping to get his peers into beach houses off campus.
Along with echoing the concerns of students dealing with a financial crisis, Seiser stated that he will continue to work with the FUSA Senate and the administration to develop better transportation methods on and off campus, try to satisfy the needs of students upset with housing situations and attempt to create a stronger advising system on campus.
‘It is all about being partners in the University decision making process,’ said Seiser to The Mirror in a post-speech interview. ‘In everything from the new Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs to commencement, students have been involved.
‘ ‘Having students seated at the table and having their voice heard is important,’ he said.
Students in attendance seemed pleased with what Seiser had to say during his speech.
‘It seems that FUSA is really taking students input and changing things, like transportation, to meet the needs that students have,’ said Alexa Hoehne ’12.
‘I thought it touched on every problem, it emphasized the good things,’ Jonas Stankovich ’10 said. ‘It was a great representation of our University, our campus community and the changes that are being done to make it even better.’
Seiser, who has three months left in his term as FUSA president, unless he gets re-elected, plans to use his time to continue to address the problems he cited.
‘FUSA has changed quite a bit,’ Seiser said. ‘It has become more than just a programming board.’
Along with the economic crisis, students on campus remain worried about housing, especially the junior class. An estimated 50 juniors remain wait-listed and will not find out if they will be released from campus until May, according to a recent campus announcement.
‘The fact is the University is worried that there are going to be a lot of students that are not going to be able to come back next year,’ Seiser said. ‘And so they don’t want to release anyone until May when they have numbers on who is coming back.’
Dan Lamendola ’09, the Senate Chair, also spoke in a question and answer period and addressed concerns about transportation. He said that the Senate plans on meeting with University officials to discuss new plans, which include creating more shuttles during peak hours when students need to go to the train station, both from campus and the beach.
Seiser said that he has been pleased so far with the work of Senate, especially the amount of committees that Senate has put a voice on.
‘Senate is being a senate,’ Seiser said. ‘They are representing the views of the students. We have senators on all the different committees. They are the elected representatives and they are voicing their opinion.’
Seiser said that he was ‘very proud’ to see students debating with faculty members during a committee meeting to find a new Vice President of Academic Affairs.
The FUSA President closed his speech by urging those in attendance to speak up and join in the process of governing their University.
‘I do my best to keep up on the campus culture,’ Seiser said in his speech.
‘I welcome any feedback because as student leaders we are accountable to you and are doing our best to better your campus experience.’
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