Student Senate hosted a town hall Wednesday evening in Walter Hall, giving updates about its respective offices and taking questions from audience members.
Speakers included Dean of Students Kathy Fahl, Athens Fire Chief Robert Rymer and Ohio University Housing and Residence Life representatives Jneanne Hacker, Chris Owens, Johnna Matulja and Jillian Philips. Treasurer of Senate Appropriations Committee Johnny Susany and Senate President Dan Gordillo also spoke at the event.
Fahl was the first speaker of the night and discussed OU’s care referral program, support for students affected by natural disasters and freedom of expression at OU.
Fahl said the Office of the Dean of Students aims to help students in crisis, help those students get to the right place and communicate with parents and families on campus.
Fahl also mentioned the care referral program which allows anyone concerned about a student who is struggling and needs help to fill out a form, and someone from the CARE team in the Office of the Dean of Students will reach out to said student to provide support..
Fahl then discussed supporting students affected by natural disasters such as hurricanes, using students in Asheville, North Carolina as an example.
“Many students in that area were OHIO Online students,” Fahl said. “When that hurricane came through, they didn’t have the ability to have WiFi and do their coursework. They also probably had some expenses related to the impact of that hurricane.”
Fahl said the Office of the Dean of Students will reach out to students affected by natural disasters and provide them with information about the student emergency fund. The office will also continue its academic advocacy for students who may have to miss class, spreading awareness about the student’s situation to faculty on their behalf, she said.
Fahl also explained the work the Office of the Dean of Students does in terms of freedom of expression.
“College is a time where students are finding their voice,” Fahl said. “We hope that we encourage students to protest, to demonstrate, to share their views whether it’s things related to Ohio University or things related to the world or nationally.”
The Office of the Dean of Students has worked collaboratively with other administrators to make freedom of expression policies more clear for people to follow and give people who want to protest an amplified platform, according to Fahl.
“When protests, marches and demonstrations are happening, there’s a team of staff who are on-site monitoring what’s going on, doing real-time education about the policies to people who are protesting,” Fahl said.
Fahl discussed the campus climate concerns team that monitors reports about activity on campus that may be harmful to an inclusive campus environment.
Athens Fire Chief Rymer also spoke at the town hall, discussing the Athens Fire Department staff and the new fire station.
The AFD has two fire stations, which Rymer has staffed with two people on duty at each station. If nobody takes the day off, there will be six people on duty.
The AFD has a new fire station located by the Stimson Avenue roundabout; however, despite a grand opening ceremony, AFD has yet to be able to move into the new station.
“We’re down there every day asking ‘Are we ready? Are we ready?’” Rymer said. “We’re ready, but we’re just waiting on (the state) to tell us ‘Yes, it's OK.’”
Rymer said 40% of calls came from OU buildings and urged students to get out of the building and not hide anything when AFD comes. He also gave advice on how to reduce the amount of fire alarms set off in OU buildings.
“Yes, you have to put water in instant macaroni and cheese,” Rymer said.
Executive Director of Housing and Residence Life Hacker spoke next.
Hacker said Housing and Residence Life contributes $13 million annually in scholarships for students and invests 15.5% of their budget back into OU, helping to fund things such as the OU Police Department and human resources.
“It’s through student dollars that we are able to do all the things we do in Housing and Residence Life,” Hacker said.
Chris Owens, director for housing capital and funding, gave an update on the new Roderick J. McDavis residence hall.
Owens said the hall will be ready for occupancy August 2026 with 591 beds, 409 student bedrooms and over 20 different kinds of outdoor or out-of-the-room engagement spaces for students to enjoy.
Jillian Phillips, associate director of Housing and Residence Life, discussed the success of student engagement events across East Green, South Green and West Green such as All Hallows East which around 1,000 people attended.
Phillips also said this year there are 278 resident advisers, and, so far, there have been 553 engagement events and over 7,765 individual check-ins between residence and RAs.
Next, Susany, treasurer of the SAC, discussed the committee’s funding.
SAC is responsible for allocating around $385,000 to student organizations to fund campus events and programs.
Student organizations can apply for bi-weekly funding with a limit of $1,500, or they can apply for semesterly funding of various amounts.
To wrap up the town hall, Senate President Gordillo gave updates on each Senate commission’s work this semester.
Gordillo said Commissioner of University Life Luke Fredricks is working on a men’s Mental Health Month event, the Minority Affairs Commission has been working on an Indigenous land acknowledgment and the LGBTQIA+ Commission has held support groups for constituents following the 2024 presidential election results.
The Residence Life Commission has been working to remove meal block periods for the traditional meal plans and have been focusing on improving campus safety. Commissioner for Black Affairs Precious Powell has been working to put on a multicultural art gallery which will be held Nov. 21 from 6-8 p.m. in Baker University Center 242.
Gordillo also said the Academic Affairs Commission has been working to limit mandatory textbook purchases for students, the Governmental Affairs Commission helped register 200 Bobcats to vote and the International Affairs Commission has been working with Ostroh Academy in Ukraine.
The Women’s Affairs Commission passed out over 200 bags to students filled with items promoting safe sex, and the Environmental Affairs Commission created voter guides that contained each candidate’s platforms on the environment ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
The next Senate meeting will be held next Wednesday in Walter Hall.
