Regional campus reps. will soon be connected
Regional campuses will soon be able to interact with ASUSU Senate meetings thanks to a technology update.
New equipment is being brought into the Senate Chamber, located on the third floor of the Taggart Student Center. This room is mainly used for ASUSU meetings, but is also used by other organizations, said Tiffany Evans, ASUSU director. The update will serve the needs of student leaders and the students of USU in particular, Evans said.
“I think this is an exciting opportunity, not only for student government but also for the room in particular,” Evans said.
The update will bring in equipment such as a projector, a wireless keyboard and microphones that will allow ASUSU members to communicate directly with regional campuses, said Jason Burrows, ASUSU administrative assistant. The equipment will be able to be located in a central place with these updates rather than having to bring equipment in and have wires connecting everything, Burrows said. It will be similar to the set up in Champ Hall, said Jason Kowallis, Regional Campus appointed representative. Those at regional campus sites will be able to participate in the meetings as students would when taking a class via satellite.
“This will help them a lot. They will get information directly from Executive Council instead of word of mouth,” Kowallis said.
Currently the Tooele site has four student representatives, Brigham City has two, and Salt Lake, Roosevelt and Blanding each have one. This interaction between the campuses is something Kowallis said he feels will help with USU President Stan Albrecht’s goal of having one unified campus. The direct and immediate connection will allow feedback from regional campuses and allows ASUSU to help serve them better, Kowallis said.
“When we’ve received that feedback, really positive things have happened,” Evans said, noting the organization of the student government in the Uintah Basin as an example.
The funding for this update is mainly coming from funding secured by Vice Provost for Regional Campuses and Distance Education Ronda Menlove. ASUSU is contributing $5,000 to the project, which will require a total between $20,000 and $21,000, Burrows said. The Graduate Student Senate is donating $2,000 and a camcorder and a DVD burner to allow the meetings to be available as podcasts later, Burrows said.
The update will only take a day as equipment just needs to be installed, Burrows said. He said he expects it to be done in the next couple months when the equipment arrives.
-alison.baugh@aggiemail.usu.edu