By Alexandra Shapiro
Columnist
Student Government voted on one organization and debated on two resolutions during its meeting on April 10.
SG first held a closed-session meeting with only members of the general assembly to discuss the performance of cabinet members and how they can improve their positions.
Next, SG opened the meeting up to the public, where it introduced a resolution, titled “In Support of Modifying the Adjunct Faculty Office Hours.”
The resolution requires that adjunct faculty members must have two office hours per week, as opposed to the current policy in which adjunct professors have no requirements for holding office hours.
SG argued that if adjunct professors teach courses that are major requirements, they must be able to host office hours in order to foster an understanding of their major core curriculum.
College students utilize office hours often as an academic resource or to resolve concerns regarding course content, assignment reviews and general feedback.
The bill was ultimately tabled and will be further discussed at SG’s next meeting.
SG welcomed the organization Creo Consulting, whose members presented on why they should be a recognized student organization at the College.
The purpose of Creo Consulting is to provide the greater student body with opportunities to explore and gain experience in the field of business consulting.
The organization aims to build student academic development through case interview training and practice business cases that are supplemented with presentations from industry professionals and information sessions.
The club will offer interview training services and practice cases as a non-profit to local companies and on-campus clubs to build a more engaged community throughout its process. As of now, Creo Consulting has 27 student members.
After debate, SG voted to recognize Creo Consulting as a student organization at the College.
Next, SG debated another resolution titled, “Against edTPA.”
The resolution serves as an opposition to the edTPA assessment for evaluating student-teacher readiness, and urges for the New Jersey Department of Education to revoke its implementation.
The edTPA assessment is a lengthy exam — approximately 30 pages in length. It costs $300 to take the assessment and $100 for every exam retake.
Lauren Katz, a sophomore elementary education and psychology dual major and senator of education, said that education majors at the College are receiving phenomenal instruction, and that students should not have to take the edTPA assessment.
“I have seen lots of opposition from both faculty and students within the School of Education,” Katz said. “There are better ways to assess teacher preparedness. Teachers argue that there are other methods that assess readiness, not the edTPA assessment.”
The resolution passed after a vote by the general body.
