SUNY Oneonta Institutional Planning

2/23 Student Dialogue Session Notes, President's Office

Feb. 23 student dialogue session notes:

Challenges:

• At what point can we say things have calmed down with Covid?
• How are we going to manage covid in the future?
• Normalize it is ok to wear a mask if you want and to stay home if you’re feeling sick.
• Mental health and inclusivity need to be centralized into all conversations and decisions
• College is already a hard time and the pandemic is making it harder.
• Faculty and staff need to be educated on identifying and working with people who have a mental illness or disability.
• Sustainability – there is a lot of food waste in the dining halls.
• Students from every socioeconomic status need to be supported.
• Can tell there is a drop in enrollment.
• Students have a hard time accessing core classes or classes they need to be competitive for grad schools.
• Students have a lack of knowledge about all the resources and services available to them on campus or at the college.
• Some classrooms could be more modern. Schumacher specifically.
• Not all desks and furniture in classrooms are adaptable to all body sizes.
• Centralizing safe spaces on campus – the CRJIE is too far away from most things
• More gender neutral bathrooms
• Need private spaces to complete telehealth appointments or private phone calls.
• Need outdoor spaces to do homework – more benches, tables and chairs.

Opportunities:

• Mentorship program for guidance on prepping for post-graduation life.
• Celebrate the things we are good at – we often point out the hate, but there are ways to point out the small acts of kindness, too.
• Implement diversity classes that all students should take – like education majors have to. Could help with some of the problems we see. Interactive activites are good for this type of training.
• More education about bystander intervention training.
• Use alumni as a resource – promote networking with alumni – not just for upper classmen but even for freshmen and prospective students.
• Design other buildings to have classrooms like fitzelle. Sitting at tables or in a circle rather than individual desks.
• Students can get involved with city relations