The Sower’s Student Senate Summary: Oct. 10, 2017

by Benjamin Middendorf

The meeting opened at 6:16 with a prayer led by Student Senate Vice President Samuel Moore and approval of last week’s minutes with a minor correction: The Community Building Committee’s Pink Week begins Monday, October 16, rather than this past Monday, and the Volleyball Pink Out will be held on Wednesday, October 18.

The Student Senate then invited Director of Library Services Phil Hendrickson to speak to the gathered students.

Hendrickson spoke about his philosophy for the library and its purpose for Concordia.

“When I first got here nine years ago, one of our student workers in the library shared with me his opinion that the library was like a fast food library; you wanted to get in, get what you needed, and get out as quickly as possible,” Hendrickson said. “That’s kind of set the tone for my entire time here as a librarian. Basically, I said, “That’s not good.”

“My goal is to make the place welcoming, useful, and helpful, and that means (for) the physical facility, the stuff we have in it, the stuff we have on our website and the people that are there,” Hendrickson said.

Over the summer, the library staff “weeded” through the collection of periodicals, opening up more space in that area for tables and chairs. They also eliminated the shelving from the area across from the circulation desk, creating a more open and welcoming environment, with the new arrivals, puzzle and the new collection of graphic novels receiving more attention.

Upcoming plans for the library include the possible creation of more conference and meeting rooms similar to the “Green Room”, which was completed over the spring and is located in the basement. Hendrickson also mentioned plans for booth seating to be added, similar to the booth seating in the Doghouse Grill.  These seats and tables would face a TV on a wall, possibly creating a more comfortable workplace for group projects.

Several students also had questions, comments, and suggestions for Hendrickson, including about more comfortable chairs for the basement, late fees and course reserved books, a relaxation room, as well as expressing thanks for the recent addition of a coffee cart to the lobby.

The Student Senate had no old business to discuss.

New business was an update to the matter of the decreased availability of the field and fieldhouse to non-athlete students. Student Senate President Dakota Judds said that he has been and will continue to have discussions with faculty and administration about opening up more hours, and would speak more about it at next week’s October 17 meeting.

Club reports included the announcement of a Bulldogs for Life meeting on October 17 at 7 p.m., to discuss the trip to Washington D.C. in January for the March for Life.

On October 24, Security Manager Ron Down will speak to the Student Senate.

The Student Senate is also looking for more representatives from dormitories to reach a fuller representation of student interests.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:46.