Student concerns answered
by Nick Nance, managing editor

    NE Campus students met Thursday with Larry Darlage, president, to ask questions and voice concerns.

   Darlage began the session by going over concerns that had been mentioned in forums in the past.

   “In the future, we will begin renovations of each of the buildings,” he said. “The first to be renovated will be the Student Center.”

   Darlage would like to see the Student Center become a “one stop shop” for students.

   This plan would involve moving the registrar and business services offices to the Student Center.

   “It will probably take a year or two to renovate the building, but renovations will not begin for a year or two,” he said.

   When the renovations begin, the offices occupying the specific building will be moved to the new district storage facility.

   Darlage explained the status of the nearly complete storage facility.

   “The building has not been accepted yet, but hopefully we will be moving offices into the building within a few months.”

   After a few opening remarks, students began asking questions.

   One student asked about security phones in areas of the campus. The question referred specifically to the bike/jogging trail scheduled to be built soon. He asked if students would have access to a phone to contact police from the trail.

   “We are in the development stages of a district-wide plan to address the safety concerns on all campuses and other safety concerns in our post 9-11 society,” Darlage said.

   Roxanna Latifi, student president of OLAS, asked why the district policy involving harassment was not enforced as strictly as the student handbook indicates. Darlage told Latifi he would investigate the issue.

   Members of the Student Ambassadors presented questions they had been asked. One concern involved the overcrowding of child development classes.

   Darlage said he was unaware of the problem but would investigate.

   Students also inquired about the status of the cafeteria. They voiced concerns about variety, cleanliness and attitudes of cafeteria employees.

   Darlage informed students that Weber, the company that operates the cafeteria, took it over after problems with other companies in the past.

   Darlage added that he had heard no complaints about the cafeteria other than selection issues, which Weber is addressing.

   “I would like to see about getting an outside food chain to come in to help give students more of a variety for lunch,” he said, “but that is just an idea and will not happen in the immediate future.”