OSU President Burns Hargis addresses the audience at Wednesday’s SGA meeting. Hargis spoke about making OSU a green campus, concealed weapons and communication.
SGA senators passed recommendations Wednesday night asking that instructors be required to provide syllabi to students and also notify students in documented writing if changes to syllabi occur.
“I feel like tonight we did something that will help the students in a really big way,” Academic Affairs Chairman Ben Jones said.
University policies only “urge” professors to provide syllabi, according to one of the recommendations. Changes in syllabi need to be made with “adequate notice,” according to another.
The recommendation also reads that if instructors made the original contract, a syllabus, in documented writing, it seems only fair that any changes in the contract would have to be in documented writing, as well.
Senate Chairman Justin Biassou said he thinks the recommendations are important.
“I think that in any case where the student body is informed of changes within their classroom and is informed by their professor it provides an overall benefit to them,” Biassou said. “It is our ultimate hope that the legislation is taken up by the faculty for the good of the student body.”
Jones said that because the Senate cannot enforce these recommendations, they will be sent to Penny Cremeens, the grade appeals chairwoman, and Gail Gates, the vice president for academic affairs.
OSU President Burns Hargis also addressed the Senate, discussing goals, guns and “going green.”
Hargis said one of his goals is to increase communication with students.
“We should have an open dialogue,” Hargis said. “I need to be available to you, and you need to be available to me. I’m very interested in what you all think.”
He also continued his opposition to the recent Oklahoma House bill that allows concealed weapons on campus.
Hargis said even though the bill allows discharged military veterans to carry on campus, these people are not immune to violent behavior. Timothy McVeigh is one example of this kind of behavior, Hargis said.
“I understand the theory but I think there are better ways to deal with this,” Hargis said. “For example, we need a unique alarm system and we need increased training in what our response would be in such an event as a university shooting.”
Hargis said he does not foresee the bill making it through the state Senate, though.
Hargis said he wants OSU to be the cleanest, safest and “greenest” campus in the Big 12. He said he wants to get rid of “diesel-belching buses” with transportation that uses compressed natural gas.
Landscaping and recycling are also items on the agenda, Hargis said.
“We have a lot to do, and I’ll need your help,” Hargis said.
Next week’s meeting will be held in Case Study 2 of the Student Union at 7 p.m. For more information on the OSU Student Government Association, visit http://www.osusga.com.
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