By Whitney Wilson-Harris —
When you go to school, you expect to have transportation, dining services, a shop that sells spirit wear, and everything that just makes a school…well, a school. This past Friday, April 14, Miami’s Regional Student Government, along with the general student body, sat down with the Dean, Ande Durojaiye, to talk about the things that are wrong with our school, and brainstormed ways to fix them.
Regional Student Government (RSG) prepared a list of issues that they wanted to address with Dean Durojaiye. On the list were seven areas of concern: the university’s transportation system, security on campus, current dining hours, infrastructure on campus, university communication, activities on campus, and merchandise. The issues were developed from the conversations that RSG had with students, as well as the written statements that were received from the physical and virtual suggestion boxes.
The meeting opened with RSG president, Gracelyn Steigerwald, introducing Dean Durojaiye. After the introduction, RSG began to run through the list of issues. The first issue that was brought to the table was the fact that nobody wants to be on campus on Fridays, why that is, and what can be done about it. Dean Durojaiye replied, “It is possible that many people work on Fridays, and because there isn’t much to do here, they just don’t want to be on the campus if they don’t have a class.” When the question of if having more faculty on campus on Fridays would help was asked, Dean Durojaiye replied that the lack of faculty on the campus on Fridays wasn’t the problem, but rather, it was the lack of students. Another student brought up the fact that, sometimes, students fear the security officers and that there should be a way where all the students can “meet and greet” them so that we are no longer scared to reach out to them should we ever need to. Dean Durojaiye thought that this was a good idea, and he would refer it to his staff.
The most prominent issues, however, were the fact that there is no direct bus route between the Hamilton and Middletown campuses and the fact that Harriers’ Nest and Hawk Haven, the Hamilton and Middletown campuses’ cafeterias, are only open until the early afternoon and that the food selection is always the same. At both Harriers’ Nest and Hawk Haven, the menu consists of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, sandwich wraps, along with sides such as French fries and tater tots. Both cafeterias have been offering combo menus since shortly after this semester started. One student said that they are easily bored with the “same old same old” menu options day after day, and asked Dean Durojaiye if they would ever consider expanding the menu, to add things such as pasta. Dean Durojaiye had no comment about the pasta but did say that expanding the menu depends on funding, and right now, it just isn’t there, as much as he would like it to be. Another student mentioned that when she is on campus late, it is impossible to get food unless she packs it or buys a small snack from the vending machine. The Dean answered that he totally understood her frustration, but again, expanding the hours for the regionals’ food service was dependent on funding, but that the university is looking into installing sandwich vending machines at both the Hamilton and Middletown campuses. Another question was asked about if the cafeteria workers could box up the food that was made on the grill but wasn’t eaten. (Oftentimes, when the cafeteria makes up orders from the grill tickets and there is cooked food leftover when the grill closes, this food has to be thrown out.) At this, Dean Durojaiye answered, “Food service has certain standards that they must follow, so this would actually be, uh, a lawyer issue.”
The topic then switched to university spirit wear. It was brought up that all the spirit wear says “Miami” or “Miami University” on it, but there is no spirit wear that says, “Miami University Regionals.”. The student that brought this up felt that this is underrepresenting the regional campuses. Dean Durojaiye said that the university is currently working with Brick and Ivy, the university’s bookstore, that is located on the main campus in Oxford, so that regional students can purchase clothing, and also ensure that there will be a clothing line that is specifically for the regional campuses.
Everyone knows the saying “You save the best for last.” This can be said for the last topic of the meeting, which was also the most prominent: a direct bus route between the two regional campuses. Dean Durojaiye said that he and his staff met with Butler County Regional Transit Authority (BCRTA), which has fixed routes and paratransit throughout all of Butler County, as well as parts of Hamilton and Warren Counties, to see if this was a potential option. The criteria for a bus route between two points depends on several factors, and one of those factors is the number of students that are enrolled at a school at a given time. For there to be a direct route between the Hamilton and Middletown campuses, or vice versa, the number of students that attend the Middletown campuses, and the number of students that call that their “home” campus, must be higher. Currently, less than 60% of Miami Middletown students attend classes in person full time. While there is still a “good amount” that attend classes in person, that number isn’t enough to warrant needing a direct bus route between there and the Hamilton Campus. Dean Durojaiye also mentioned that “the number of students in a course impacts our [the university’s] ability to run the course.” Whitney Wilson-Harris, a Miami Middletown student who attended the meeting on behalf of The Pulse said, “It’s a true, unfortunate factor. The Hamilton Campus is a 12-minute, straight shot bus ride from my house, but I cannot attend classes there because of the way it is built. I rely on a wheelchair, and if there ever comes a time when we must evacuate the building, it is stated in my accommodations from SDS that I need a direct route where I can remain in my wheelchair. Hamilton has too many floors, which makes this impossible, and the bathrooms are not made for someone who uses a wheelchair and cannot turn their neck in order to see to back all the way up to get out of the bathroom, and not to mention, the elevator is often malfunctioning. I am sensitive to blue light due to my brain injury and therefore have a hard time with online classes. I must go all the way to Middletown, or the main campus in Oxford, for my face-to-face classes. I can’t drive, so I must take the bus. Normally, I utilize paratransit, but on occasion I find myself needing to take the route buses to get to or from class. Because the enrollment is lower in Middletown, it is 4 buses each way from my residence in Fairfield, while to go to Oxford, it’s a straight shot on one bus without having to transfer at all. Middletown and Oxford are almost the exact same driving distance, mileage-wise. I really hope that they are able to up the enrollment in Middletown because I know this is an inconvenience for more than just me.”
Not all the issues on the agenda were able to be brought to the table as Dean Durojaiye had another meeting immediately after the open forum. The ones that were brought to the table, however, were the most prominent ones, and the ones that students would most like to see resolved, and if not resolved, at least get better. As to whether this will ever happen, we as Miami Regionals students will just have to wait and see. In the meantime, it helps to know that we have a dean that was willing to listen and hear us out.