 "Photo: Quinnipiac University")
Quinnipiac University President John Lahey addressed campus issues relating to diversity, the University's financial status and freedom of speech in a question and answer forum with SGA members last Wednesday. The visit gave SGA members the opportunity to speak one on one with Lahey and ask any questions they had.
Among various topics, Lahey was asked about the racial incidents on campus and how some students felt that the school left them uninformed about what happened.
"I think you all need to be sensitive to these things when they happen and that you realize that we hope to give you as much information as available," Lahey said. "We really weren't holding anything back." He added that once it became a police investigation, the university had no control over the information.
Lahey also talked about the racial incidents that occurred this semester in his opening remarks and how they have affected the campus.
"I do hope that as we go on into the new semester that you reflect on how we responded to [the racial incidents]," Lahey said. "I think the university acted appropriately."
Lahey spoke highly of the students on campus and how important their role is in defining how people view the university.
"You guys are much more important, more important than the presidents and vice presidents in defining the culture of our school," he said.
Lahey was also asked about how the school is looking towards diversity within the student body and what is being done to attract more diversity.
"We are certainly far more diverse than we were 20 years ago, but it's a challenge," Lahey said. "We are working on it very hard. We have financial aid targeted towards diversity."
He mentioned later that next years budget will be very tight. "I think there will unfortunately be an increase in tuition," said Lahey when asked about how financial aid will be affected by the economic recession. "There are additional costs; I believe the tuition increase for next year will be the lowest increase in my 20-plus years here."
Lahey also discussed the university endowment and how it will be affected by economic activities. He said that the endowment has declined and that the economy is not directly affecting the university right now.
Members of SGA had been thinking long and hard about the questions they were going to ask Lahey.
"I was very impressed with the quality of questions that our members asked," said SGA President Sean Geary. "I think President Lahey is a great person to have come before student government. I think it's very appropriate that the president of the university has to respond to questioning from the student government."
Earlier this semester, SGA passed a motion to ban JuicyCampus.com, a gossip Web site, from the QU server and this question and answer session gave members the opportunity to hear Lahey's opinion on the issue.
The question about JuicyCampus.com was geared toward how the university reacted to the Web site as compared to how it reacted to The Chronicle last year. Lahey stated that it was not a violation of First Amendment rights with The Chronicle, but rather a reaction to the breaking of policy regarding the posting of stories. He said that banning JuicyCampus.com would be a breaking of First Amendment rights, though.
Lahey's visit provided answers to questions from SGA members that reflect the situation of students on campus and the university as a whole.
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