SGA met on Nov. 25 to fill in the Senators before Thanksgiving break. Before the student officials shared their new developments, Senators got to hear from the Wellness Center during open session.
Wellness Center Director Scott Woodside said, “We are on pace to hire four additional counselors.” Furthermore, Woodside noted they would soon acquire another vehicle for the EMS. Another new facet to the Wellness Center that students could expect next semester is a more confidential process when checking in.
“We are trying to expand our group offerings to make it easier for people,” Associate Director of the Wellness Center Dr. Amy Hoch said. “We are going to be able to check-in using your own device.”
Mobile check-ins eliminate the possible anxieties that come from people seeing you at the Wellness Center. Overall the Wellness Center is responding to feedback to make the wellness center more accessible to Rowan.
Alternate Student Trustee, Kyle Perez, was excited to share news on Rowan’s next major building project. However, he wanted to emphasize that this is a recent development and is far from being set in stone.
“The freshman village is going to be where the parking lot is in Chestnut,” Perez said. “The plan is to knock down Chesnut to make room for parking.”
Perez emphasized the purpose of this freshman village is to create a unique and rewarding experience for first-year students.
“There will be first-year learning spaces, classrooms, and one point of entry (for safety reasons),” Perez said.
Furthermore, there will be a similar sophomore village constructed where Triad currently is. Both places will also have a dining area.
A new resolution passed, which will advocate for the adoption of a new safety app for students to use. Vice President Jason Fisch wants to drive home the fact that this resolution is strictly an advocacy position for the app, and SGA will work with the administration to implement it for the future.
Three senior mechanical engineering students developed the app Safe Quest: Chris Guice, Mark Hausman, and Steve Koverick. The idea started with Hausman and Koverick, who came up with the app last year in EI (Entrepreneurship Innovation).
Since then, they brought their in their friend Chris, and over the past summer, they took significant steps in developing the app to what it is today.
“We are revolutionizing campus safety with an app for the modern student. The four main features are: I’m getting a ride, I’m walking, 911, and alert friends,” Guice said.
These features make it easy for the user to alert others of their safety/position. The app also allows you to chat with a dispatcher instead of making the phone call. WIth instantaneous location sharing with dispatchers, this app looks to ensure the safety of all students.
The Safe Quest team addressed concerns over the price of the app, saying that they would charge the school and not students.
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