Representatives from the Graduate Professional Student Council urged Undergraduate Student Government members to become more proactive within the student community at the USG meeting, Tuesday.

“I believe that USG needs to do a better job of communicating information to the undergraduate student body,” GPSC President Jonathan Flowers said.

During the meeting, Flowers presented the latest compiled version of Chancellor Carlo Montemagno’s reorganization of university programs which included the most recent changes of program locations within the proposed schools.

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Flowers said he felt it was important that USG relay the updated academic reorganization details to undergraduates and [that USG] become more proactive in getting information to their peers.

“The information isn’t private but it takes time to obtain and understand the details,” Flowers said.

The reorganization proposals continue to be under discussion and all departments are subject to change.

Information regarding department changes can be found on the Graduate Professional Student Council’s website under Complied Academic Reorganization Proposal.

The changes include moving several programs into different schools than what they were originally assigned by the administration.

The Department of Africana Studies requested to move from the School of Social Sciences and Multicultural Studies to the School of Humanities.

The administration approved Communication Studies’ request to move the major from the School of Social Sciences and Multicultural Studies to the School of Media and Performing Arts.

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Health Care Management has also been approved to move from the School of Management and Marketing to the School of Health Services.

Political Science faculty have proposed establishing of a separate Department of Public Administration in the College of Business under the School of Management and Marketing.

The university has approved the creation of a School of Technology in the College of Science, Engineering, Technology and Transportation.

USG is given advisory authority over administrative decisions like the restructuring by the Board of Trustees and needs to exercise that authority, Flowers said.

Lauren Schaefer, GPSC representative, stressed the importance of USG participating in committees that need undergraduate representation.

Despite registering for committee meetings, there is a lack of attendance by undergraduate representatives, according to Schaefer.

“This a problem because majority of [the] labor is for the undergraduate population,” Schafer said. “This is my final call for you all to start showing up to these committees so I can get an opinion from the undergraduate student perspective.”

At the meeting some USG senators agreed to begin taking on more responsibility.

To serve on those committees students must be appointed, which the senators that volunteered were not, Emily Buice Undergraduate Student Government vice president said.

USG is working with various student constituency groups and external affairs.

“We’re working with the executive board and external affairs,” Buice said.”Our goal is to have more events and bring USG to the students instead of making the students come to USG.”

USG approved six RSO’s in the meeting including: SIU Concrete Canoe [Club], Chess Club, SIU League of Legends [Club], Buddhist[s] for World Peace, Pause for Paws and Steel Bridge [Club.]

Staff writer Farrah Blaydes can be reached at fblaydes@dailyegyptian.com. 

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