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□ October 06, 2010 □ ThE VoICE, For Students, By Students 3
Projects, donations and the media
Student Government Association President Jermaine Pittman (left), relaxes with other
the recent Board of Trustees meeting.
Trustees meeting
highlights positive
growth and continuing
challenges for FSU
By Courtney “NuNu” Taylor
Voice Staff Writer
The Fayetteville State University Board of
Trustees convenes one to three times per se
mester to discuss various topics ranging from
budget issues and scholarship funding to ath
letics and student government association.
The Voice attended the latest meeting, held
Sept. 23 at Chestnutt Library. Here’s a high
light reel of what went on at that meeting: .
PROJECTS AND EVENTS:
Over the summer FSU held a football jam
boree where 18 schools participated from
various counties and 4,000 fans. FSU’s new
scoreboard was briefly discussed. Dr. Janice
Haynie discussed her interview with sopho
more Tatiana Mosley, who expressed her ex
perience on the trip m Afirica with Coca-Cola,
where she attended the World Cup, a safari,
and a day with actor Idris Elba.
The Office of Student Affairs also dis
cussed a possible Health and Wellness Ini
tiative, which aims to tackle the problems
with obesity, sexually transmitted diseases
on campus, and promote fitness and nutrition.
FSU will also host its annual Dancing with
the Stars event in April to raise money for
low income housing families
DONATIONS
During the 2009-2010 year, $1.9 million
was raised for the university. For 2010-2011,
there will be an Advancement Marketing
Branding Committee Initiative to take on
more sponsors for the university. The Tom
Joyner Campaign became a huge success, in
creasing fundraising by $240,000, however,
in late December 2010 the Tom Joyner Cam
paign for FSU will end. Dr. Fleming’s ban
quet was a great success. Alumni donations
have increased by 200 percent with more than
1600 paid members.
Majors gifts donated to the university were
from Ford Motor Company, Morgan-Stanley,
Bank of America, Food Lion, Thurgpod Mar
shall, and Wachovia. Future sponsors would
be Coca-Cola, BB&T, and Johnson & John
son.
THE CHANCELLOR’S REPORT
Chancellor Anderson expressed his ap
preciation and gratitude for a $500,000 grant
from the Housing and Urban Development
for the redevelopment of Murchison Road.
In addition, he said that next year, the univer
sity may be eligible for another $800,000 to
ward the redevelopment of Murchison Road.
A $5 million proposal for the Math, Sciences,
and Military Initiative was also discussed.
With this proposal the Chancellor has been
dealing closely with Ron Blakely, who works
with the Obama Initiative in improving the
stance of HBCUs.
The Chancellor also wants to establish a
committee for major capital, whose duty will
be setting a target never set in FSU history.
Chancellor Anderson also encouraged all
members of the board to support athletics and
academic events.
FSU IN THE MEDIA;
So far FSU was mentioned in national me
dia 325 times and FSU videos were viewed
2100 times. Monday, FSU Director of Public
Relations met with media representatives to
discuss the lack of positive-based journalism
efforts focused on FSU. He feels the media
chooses to journal what they want and is se
lective about the information they put out.
FSU’s name and image must be protected.
Voice photo by Nathaniel Stevenson
board members during a break during
STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION:
SGA President Jermaine Pittman gave an
update on the affairs of SGA and great, suc
cess.The Student Housing Initiative was
discussed. The estimated cost will be $50 to
60 million and it will be SGAs duty to in
form students of the prospective costs when
the time comes for re-housing. Mr. Pittman
concluded by reminding the Board of SGA’s
2010-2011 motto, which he vowed to adere
to: “You Speak, We L.I.S.T.E.N (Lead, In-,
spire, Speak-Out, Teach, Encourage, and
Network)”
COMING UP NEXT...
The next meeting is Dec.9, 2010 at 1:30
p.m. in the J.C Jones Board Room, located on
the secon floor of Chestnutt Library. Board of
Trustees meetings are open to the public.
Need financial aid help? Know where to go
By Krystal McDaniel
Voice Staff Writer
Have you ever walked into the
Office of Financial Aid, signed in
and waited for a long period of time
only to find out you’re in the wrong
place?
Have you heard this before: “The
place you need to be in is student
accounts.”
Many students are confused
when it comes down to the duties of
financial aid staff versus the respon
sibilities of student accounts staff.
In most instances, students have
issues pertaining to the Office of
Student Accounts, yet they’ll head
straight for the Office of Financial
Aid without reviewing their account
in banner or ensuring all their re
sponsibilities are taken care of
Financial Aid deals with schol
arships, loans, work study and
grants to help students pay for col
lege. Student accounts, on the other
hand, deals with a variety of things
such as refiond checks, accounts re
ceivable, third-party billing, refund
check corrections, student inquiries
about their account or tuition bill in
formation.
Tavoria Wax, a student account
representative, says they may do
a workshop to educate students so
they know which office they need to
go to in the event of inquiries.
“Some of the staff are great help,
but as far as decisions about stu
dents’ money, it could be a lot bet
ter,” said Fayettevile State Univer
sity sophomore Melissa Robinson
“It could be that they find some
thing wrong with your account at
the last moment and expect you to
pay something that you didn’t even
know about... Also when you go to
the financial aid they send you in
big circles.”
Many students express ill feel
ings about the Office of Financial
Aid due to long wait times. But time
is wasted by students who did not
meet necessary deadlines, complete
mandatory verification forms, sub
mit tax sheets, or do other necessary
work.
Time is also taken up by students
who have inquires about their finan
cial aid award. This can be avoided
if students view their account in
banner and check their email regu
larly. Holds, changes in the FAFSA
process and many other important
notifications are sent by email.
Although there is room for im
provement in both offices, students
must take care of their respective
responsibilities. Punctuality and ef
ficiency can make all the difference.