By L. Kincaid Holmes
Installation of locks on dorm rooms is in the bidding process and is on target for a July 1 start, said Paul Lehr, college director of facilities, during today’s student town hall meeting.
Lehr noted in his update that one of the five or six bidders had done a walk-through of all the houses before the town hall meeting.
In addition to Lehr, the town hall panel in this third week of remote learning included Maya Dietz, dean of students; Meggan Madden, dean of academics; Interim President John Williams; Katie Schiele, director of financial aid; Joy Turnbaugh, chief operating officer; Milly Mensing from finance and accounting; and student government president and vice president Sophia Hathaway and Matthew McLeod-Warrick. Listening in were 52 community members, the majority of whom were students.
Per usual, Hathaway kicked off today’s meeting with a metaphysical thought. This week’s was the 23rd Psalm. Following the met, all panelists offered varied announcements.
Lehr touched on:
• Locks – demanded by a student protest against sexual assault in early March – are still being studied and have moved to proposal and bidding
• Currently have 5 or 6 bidders
• One bidder came on campus looking at the dorm room lock situation
• Plan is on target for beginning July 1 and finishing by August for classes
• Keycards will be used to access rooms
• Working on the privacy settings for the possibility of not locking room doors during the day
Student Government:
•· Senate nomination letter deadline was extended to tomorrow Wed., April 15 at midnight, because no one had signed up to run.
•· Club budget request deadline was extended to tomorrow Wed., April 15 at midnight
Dietz announcements:
• Reiterated how to access the online student resources site and its contents, such as the recorded town hall meetings, volunteer practitioners, CSO meetings, camp updates and messages, and the Social and Emotional Support page which has all the information and some advice from counselors and practitioners
Madden’s announcements:
• A survey from the president’s office was sent out about academic technology. This closes on Thursday
Kudos were offered to:
• Carson Landry for receiving the Fulbright Fellowship to study carillon in Belgium
• Greg Sovie, tennis captain and graduating senior for receiving the Post Graduate Scholarship Award from the SLIAC Conference
Schiele’s announcement:
• An email on renewing financial aid and scholarship packages was sent out; be sure to follow the instructions on the renewal process
Mensing announcement:
• If you are a senior and have not had or scheduled your exit interview, be sure to do so by emailing her Principia email: milly.mensing@principia.edu
After announcements, questions ranged from refunds and emergency pay to Decisions and Dilemmas.
Emergency pay, as announced, has been extended to April 30 and you will receive the same amount as the first round, if you have not worked remotely or on campus since. If you have, then the pay will shift, depending on the hours.
All panelists encouraged students to reach out with any further questions, and to also check the student resources page on PrinWeb.
A recording of this third remote town hall, and the other two, including questions and answers, can be found on PrinWeb, as well.
