Roundtable group meets for follow-ups
by Roxanna Latifi, reporter

    Members of the district Roundtable met for the final time this semester on the NW Campus Thursday to follow-up on concerns presented in previous meetings.

   In October, Ifeoma Offor, an international student from SE Campus, said she wanted to help students like herself attain scholarships. The group addressed that issue first.

   Offor mentioned how difficult it is for international students to go to college. She explained that international students have to pay more fees and only have a certain amount of time to complete their education due to student visa expirations and other difficulties.

   One NE Campus student suggested that Offer start an international student organization on her campus and raise funds to help her cause.

   Committee focus then turned to registration. Some members believe the organization process could be improved.

   Chancellor Leonardo de la Garza said policies would not change. Instead, the ideas on how to better serve and maintain the registration process could be analyzed and then evaluated by a committee.

   The group formulated an objective: “Examine the registration function and determine if possible opportunities exist for improvement.”
   Registration committee members include Linda Garcia, assistant dean of corporate services; Prudence Zavala, South Campus student development coordinator; Michael Villarreal, NW Campus vice-president of the Texas Association of Mexican American College Students; Charles Smith, SE Campus learning lab manager; Sylvia Martinez, NW Campus assistant dean of continuing education; Janny Zaskoda, manager of information systems; Jeff Parks, South Campus instructor of automotives; Vicki Hutto, lead programmer analyst, and Margaret Bolding, NW Campus adjunct music instructor.

   The group also addressed student organization stoles for graduation, which was first presented at the April Roundtable meeting last spring. Latino Student Union (LSU) on South Campus suggested that student organization members be allowed recognition at graduation. Since the request was brought forth late in the semester, de la Garza had delayed action because he said the issue should be dealt with extensively.

   Roundtable members volunteered to serve on a committee to establish the criteria that should be met to wear a student organization stole for graduation.

   Committee members include Amelia Vidal, South Campus LSU secretary; Villarreal; Garcia; Zeke Tolbert, NW Campus assistant professor of math; Bolding and Latifi, NE Campus president of the Organization of Latin and American Students.

   Concluding the Roundtable meeting, de la Garza said Roundtable members who volunteered to be a part of committees will analyze each issue and possibly take the next step in resolving those issues during cabinet meetings.