Ohio University Student Senate met Wednesday to discuss resolutions and hear from the Board of Trustees’ student trustees.
The meeting began with a presentation from the Board’s student trustees, Ellen Gill-Franks, a junior studying English pre-law and sociology-criminology, and Sarah Ladipo a junior studying philosophy, over financial discussions going on within the university and other university data.
Gill-Franks and Ladipo discussed different topics, including risk management and the divestment of university-owned properties OU has been dealing with, including The Ridges.
The plan for The Ridges involves trying to find a developer who will care about the historic site as much as the university has. OU hopes to find someone for the project, but if not, the university will put it up for sale or safely return it to nature.
Another segment of their presentation featured the increase in freshmen this year by 17% since COVID-19 began. With 3,664 freshmen, OU wants to keep optimizing their programs for the future and help bring in even more students, the student trustees said. The university hopes to optimize scholarships and aid for in-state and out-of-state students for fiscal year 22 as well as support the next phase of the OHIO Honors Program.
Near the end of the meeting, the student trustees mentioned how the new regional trustee is Misty Crosby, who was recently picked based on her prior experience and knowledge from her time at Buckeye Hills Regional Council.
The student trustees closed with a statement about the new Ohio revised code 3345.82, which allows electronic attendance of Board meetings for members.
Following the presentation, Senate passed a resolution to revise rules and procedures and tabled a resolution to buy a new Senate computer for its office.
Closing the meeting, multiple members of Senate reminded everyone in light of the recent crime alerts that they are never alone and to always feel free to reach out. They listed multiple resources OU offers if anyone is ever struggling or is afraid to report on a sensitive topic.
