Unlike most Mississippi State University student groups on campus that have resumed activity in the past week, the Student Association has been working through the summer. SA President Parker Wiseman said the SA has made progress with three resolutions concerning a Fall Break, MoneyMate expansion and extended library hours during the exam period.
Over the summer, Wiseman did a comparative study with other state schools in Mississippi to find out the status of a Fall Break at those institutions. In doing the study, he discovered that the University of Southern Mississippi is in the process of approving a Fall Break for the 2003-2004 academic year. Ole Miss just implemented a new Fall Break last year by extending Thanksgiving Break to a whole week.
Wiseman said since it’s a calendar issue it comes down to meeting requirements for student-teacher contact. Ole Miss was able to meet these requirements by adding extra hours during the exam period.
“We have allotted exam periods such as 8 a.m.-11 a.m. whereas Ole Miss only has set starting dates such as 8 a.m., noon, etc.,” said Wiseman. “That way they can count that 11 a.m.-noon hour as being student-teacher contact.”
As of now, Wiseman said it is up to Interim President Charles Lee to take it to the Institutions of Higher Learning since it is a scheduling matter. The calendar committee must approve the change as well.
“Progress has been so slow, but SA is pushing for it as hard as we can because we know it’s definitely something the student body feels passionately about,” Wiseman said.
Fall Break was not the only item of business addressed by the SA this summer. MoneyMate expansion has also been a major order of pursuit in the last few months.
“MoneyMate expansion is looking real positive,” Wiseman said.
Wiseman attended several preliminary meetings to discuss money off-campus expansion. They do all of the work for it and then receive a percentage of the profit. This same company is one that has just begun the expansion on the Ole Miss campus.
Representatives from Student Advantage came to MSU and made a presentation to Wiseman, chief financial officer Dan Bryant, director of Telecommunications Tom Lindsay and Mike Rackley, with ITS.
“I’ve contended that this should be a service we provide for our students, and we should provide it on and off campus,” Wiseman said.
A third issue the SA has continued to pursue is an extension of library hours during the exam period. Wiseman said that over the summer, a library representative contacted Wiseman and informed him that, due to budget constraints, the library would not be able to extend their hours during the exam period.
Wiseman said the SA will continue to fight for extended library hours since limited library hours are a problem for a large number of students.
“I don’t really understand how this could be a problem when we’re talking about such a vital thing,” Wiseman said. “The Senate unanimously voted on it, and it is being denied because of a lack of funding. If the university is going to call Saturday and Sunday Reading Days, the library doors should be open for any students who wish to use the facility in preparation for exams.”
After discussing the summer’s progress, Wiseman said, “This is an academic institution first and foremost; therefore, we should be concerned with providing adequate academic services to our students above all else.