At times there was tension as students took advantage of the opportunity to express their utmost campus concerns on Wednesday, April 13 at the annual town hall meeting. The concerns voiced to a panel of Hofstra’s highest administrators in the Plaza Rooms of the Student Center varied, as students passionately addressed issues involving campus dining, prayer space, scholarships, resident facilities and on-campus parking, to name a few.

Members of the panel included President Stuart Rabinowitz, Provost Gail Simmons and Dean of Students Sofia Pertuz. They were joined by Vice President of Student Affairs W. Houston Dougharty, Director of Public Safety Karen O’Callaghan, Vice President for Facilities and Operations Joseph Barkwill and Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Jean Peden-Christodoulou, among others.Jennifer Thiebaud, a senior foreign language education major, was enraged about the nature of dining plans as well as food prices and demanded answers from the panel. She asked about the removal of the concession stand in the Netherlands and said, “I pay $50,000 a year for the extra amenities that state schools and public schools do not have.”

Barkwill responded by acknowledging that there wasn’t enough traffic in that area to maintain the facilities. Thiebaud continued to voice her concerns in what turned out to be an intense exchange with President Rabinowitz.

“A $1,200 meal plan sometimes does not last a student three quarters of a semester. Why is fruit so much more expensive on campus than at the supermarket?” Thiebaud asked. “Water bottles went from 20 oz. to 16 oz. and the price remains the same. I love yogurt, but half a cup is $5.50. That’s insane.”

“Go to another university and tell us if their food is as cheap as it would be if you went to the supermarket. It’s not,” Rabinowitz said. “The vendors set the prices, so if you’re unhappy, then join our food committee. We want student input on this, but if we could do better, then we would do better.”

Alyson Guarino, president of the Student Government Association (SGA), spoke about Thiebaud’s concerns. “I think it’s OK if students are upset and come because it’s an open town hall, so it’s a great opportunity for students. So, yes that was surprising, but I think it was good. I think it was good for administrators to see the passion and frustration in the student,” she said.

That frustration was evident when Thiebaud was inquiring about the Netherlands Core hours of operation being reduced. At one point, Rabinowitz shrugged his shoulders and Thiebaud called him out and questioned his commitment.

“When I shrug, all that it meant – and this is a good lesson for you in not reading too far into body language – because it meant that I never heard that the hours were cut in the Netherlands,” Rabinowitz said. “That’s what the shrug was. Don’t jump to conclusions because you feel like making a point or because you’re feeling angry. And don’t try to read into other people’s forms of communication without asking them what they meant by it. That’s a lesson for life.”

Thiebaud was not happy with his answer. “How does leadership not know that hours of operations changed when student life should be their biggest priority?”

“The cost of tuition is only increasing while what we get in return decreases. We get no value for our money. To say the least, there is stagnant growth in the dining services we receive,” Thiebaud said.

“When we have a forum like this, everyone is given an opportunity to show up and voice their concerns,” Eugene Maccarrone, a member of the University Senate Executive Committee said. “Rabinowitz does the right thing by encouraging concerns.”

There was a space created for interfaith prayer this year, but during the town hall there was a request for more prayer space on campus, preferably on the south side of campus for commuter students; otherwise, students need to cross the unispan to the north side of campus to pray. It was addressed that some students pray about three times a day.

President Rabinowitz suggested creating a temporary space for now on the south side of campus, to which Executive Director of the Career Center Gary Miller, who was also on the panel, offered the second floor of the Career Center as a temporary space for students to practice prayer until permanent accommodations can be made.

Ben Martin, a freshman political science major and SGA member, agreed that the prayer center should be a focus. “I believe that diversity is an important aspect of our campus,” he said. “Respecting the traditions and religions of other groups makes our campus more inclusive and more accepting. I think that everyone should have the right to practice their beliefs without difficulty and the school should aide them in doing so.”

Lola Solis, a freshman political science and women’s studies major, is the SGA club relations chair. She commented on the lack of clarity in receiving potential scholarships through the school after enrolling and asked for a more efficient way of understanding the process to receive more scholarships.

“We do have a scholarship application on the portal, but if you think it’s messy, or not working, then you are certainly welcome to come talk to me or the director of Student Financial Services,” Jessica Eads, the vice president for enrollment management said. “We would love to have a roundtable discussion about means to make the application more accessible. But understand that once that application is in, when you are awarded scholarship upon entry, that is your main scholarship. There are limited scholarships available to continuing students after that point.”

A student addressed his concern about parking. He told a story about being late for class and getting a ticket due to the lack of parking outside Breslin Hall. Rabinowitz suggested that a solution might be adjusting scheduling. Provost Simmons agreed with Rabinowitz, adding that the scheduling problem affects more than just parking. She admitted that the scheduling affects internships, jobs, off-campus activities, flexibility, selection options and classroom distribution.

Sophomore Natalie Mishkin, a political science major, introduced the fact that some of the residential towers have ellipticals whereas others have a study space. She asked about the possibility of adding machines to the towers that lack them so that they have an exercise space as well as a study space.

“The issue we’re trying to address is what do you want to have and what facilities do you want in the residence halls? Barkwill responded. “These things do have to be looked at in terms of practicality, use and safety in terms of the equipment. Some of the buildings are designed with ventilation systems that are impacted by the people down below so we have to look at technical standpoints as well.”

Vice President Dougharty concluded, “There were a few things we didn’t know about such as swipe problems and the prayer room. The other thing is that we need more space to simply be a community, which is something we are working very hard on to address. We want all Hofstra students to feel welcome.”