The ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ University Student Association (AUSA) hosted its Town Hall on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. in Buller Hall’s Newbold Auditorium in front of undergraduate students and faculty. A panel of nine administrators answered questions regarding campus matters such as Dining Services, Campus Safety, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) on campus, academics and residence halls. AUSA’s Executive Vice President Alyssa Caruthers (junior, political science and English) was the event’s host, in addition to the several AUSA senators who asked questions that were submitted by students prior to the event. The administrator panelists were the following:
José Bourget, assistant vice president for faith engagement
Glenn Meekma Jr., chief financial officer
Willie E. Hucks II, assistant to the president for Mission & Culture
John W. Taylor V, president
Jennifer Burrill, assistant vice president for Campus & Student Life
Frances Faehner, vice president for Campus & Student Life
Amy Rosenthal, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences
Wagner Kuhn, chief academic officer
Anthony Bosman, chair of the Department of Mathematics
Dining Services
The first set of questions were regarding the campus’s Dining Services and the externally hired management company Bon Appetit. In response to questions about the alleged mistreatment and poor working conditions that several student workers have complained about, Meekma shared that an investigation into the conditions in Dining Services had been launched last semester.
“Bon Appetit’s senior leaders and their own human resources team regularly visit ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ and were on campus eight times between August [2024] and January [2025],” he said. “They visited campus to hold interviews with students in both October and November … speaking with the majority of the 35 student workers who were on staff at that time, as well as the full-time employees.”
According to Meekma, further visits, discussions and town halls for Bon Appetit management and workers at ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ have occurred, and they plan to have more. Meekma shared that the most recent Bon Appetit town hall was held in mid-December, and another one is planned for the end of the current semester. However, Meekma did admit that student attendance was “limited” at the last Bon Appetit town hall.
When asked about the continual increase in cafeteria prices, Meekma cited the national inflation increases that affect all industries, including at ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ. He said that although cafeteria prices must align with the costs of running Dining Services, “¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ does not take price increases lightly.”
Regarding the potential creation of cheaper and more flexible meal plans for students, Meekma mentioned that discussions are ongoing to address this and that a current graduate student is directly in conversations with the Dining Services general manager and head chef Michelle Michalenko to work to create meal plans for different kinds of students.
Campus Safety
Several questions were asked about the university’s policies and procedures regarding responses to adverse weather conditions. Meekma answered these questions on behalf of Ben Panigot, assistant vice president for campus safety, who was unable to attend the town hall. Meekma read a statement provided by Panigot, which stated that Campus Safety monitors wind chills and potential conditions that could lead to frostbite for students. conditions during mid-January apparently did not meet Campus Safety’s definition of conditions that necessitated the cancelation of classes or for online remote learning to be mandated, despite in the Southwest Michigan area, including ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ Academy, deciding to delay or close.
Another question proposed the installation of more light posts on campus, especially on the unlit pathway on West Campus Circle Drive by University Towers. Meekma announced that Jamie Wright, ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ’ Plant Services director, met with American Electric Power, the campus’ power supplier, and a request for additional lights is in the process of getting approved and hopefully being installed in the near future.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
A large part of the night’s discussions were dedicated to matters of DEI and particularly the concerns for privacy and safety from immigration officials as liberties for many minority groups who immigrate to the U.S. are being . Faehner reassured students that protecting them and their rights to privacy is a core priority for ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ and that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prohibits the release of any private records for students and employees.
Faehner went a step further, offering “request to prevent disclosure” forms to those in attendance, which she explained would provide further privacy protections if the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or any entity sought ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ for private information. Hucks, Bourget and Taylor also took time to express their personal commitments to ensuring students are protected and cared for.
Hucks added that specific groups at ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ, including International Student Services, the Center for Faith Engagement and the Counseling and Testing Center, are providing services, counsel and answers to questions that various marginalized groups can rely upon. He also announced that in March, a “Stand Up with Women” empowerment program is scheduled to be hosted by student Nicholas Gunn, and the Summit of Social Consciousness, which will be March 6-8, plans to be a forum of discussion for DEI matters and will be specifically centered around mental health. Hucks also mentioned that advocating, acknowledging and accommodating students who are “differently abled” physically is a major focus for him and his office.
Faehner specifically mentioned care for LGBTQ students. “Our care group for LGBT students continues, and I recently checked in with sponsors, and I’ve been assured that the care from the sponsors is deeply committed, and the university is deeply committed to providing care for all of our students.”
Worries about President Donald and how it may impact initiatives and policies at ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ were expressed. Faehner shared that the university will continue to keep its DEI policies in line with federal and state regulations, but the core principles of DEI will not leave the campus. Bourget also cited the Bible with the story of the daughters of Zelophehad in Numbers 36: Moses, under the guidance of God, made sure to have specific rules and policies in place for Israel so that the women, who had no male relatives among them, could still have the right to own land. “The scriptures over and over and over again affirm that God loves us and values every single human being.” Bourget argued that “[He] charges his community to uplift and encourage and reconcile and heal every single member of the community.”
Residence Halls
When asked about the current conditions of Lamson Hall, the undergraduate female residence dorm, Burrill announced that Maranatha Volunteers International will continue their work to give Lamson “a facelift” to the suite side during summers. The limited renovations that were conducted during the summer of 2024 were the first out of five phases, added Burrill. She added that students should continue to give strong feedback regarding renovations, laundry appliances not working and current living conditions.
Burrill also addressed the issue of male maintenance repair workers seemingly barging into Lamson Hall, stating that although the university has hired a female maintenance worker to address some of the Lamson issues, that worker still requires assistance to meet all maintenance orders in Lamson. When male workers have to enter dorm rooms, outside of emergency cases, they only enter after 9 a.m. While working, they are tasked with knocking loudly on doors if initial knocks are not answered in an effort to respect the privacy of residents and avoid any unwanted surprises.
Administrators offered more direct answers to questions compared to the December 2023 AUSA Town Hall. Administrators seemed to be significantly more prepared to answer the pre-submitted questions. Caruthers was unable to address any of the questions that students submitted live during the event due to the event already running over its allotted time. Caruthers is working to get the list of questions to administrators and hopes they will address the questions sometime this semester.
“It is unfortunate that we didn’t get to the live questions,” said Caruthers. “But the ones that were asked were very important and achieved Town Hall’s goal of allowing communication between the AU students and administration.”
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, ¶·Å£ÆåÅÆ University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.