Quinnipiac University’s Student Government Association hosted an annual panel with members of Quinnipiac administration in its “State of QUnion” event Feb. 13, discussing a wide range of topics including DEI and a new dining plan.
SGA hosts this event every year to give students an opportunity to talk to Quinnipiac administration through a Q &A session.
“It’s so important for the student body to be able to break down that barrier of talking to these administrations that have so much power over our experience here,” said Kaitlyn Sternhardt, a junior psychology major and SGA student body vice president.
The administration panel included Quinnipiac President Judy Olian, Chief Experience Officer Tom Ellett, Provost Debra Liebowitz, Vice President of Facilities and Capital Planning Sal Filardi and Interim Vice President for Inclusive Excellence David Fryson.
Here are the topics the panel discussed:
The Office of Inclusive Excellence and diversity, equity and inclusion topics
A large portion of the State of QUnion was dedicated to speaking about the Office of Inclusive Excellence and DEI topics.
Over the past year, The Office of Inclusive Excellence has been in the process of restaffing its office. There is an effort to find a full-time vice president of inclusive excellence, as “the search is ongoing,” according to Olian. A new person will likely step into this role in mid-to-late spring.
“What we have done here at Quinnipiac is actually (a) model that the nation can look at and see how we keep sustaining this idea of inclusive excellence,” Fryson said.
Victor Constanza, a sophomore behavioral neuroscience major and SGA identity senator, asked the panel to discuss how the events occurring in U.S. politics affect students at Quinnipiac.
President Donald Trump has made several changes in LGBTQ+ rights and immigration since returning to the White House for a second term. These changes have concerned students across campus, including Constanza.
“But you should see the day after the election here,” Constanza said to the panel. “You should see how the students of color here the last few weeks have been feeling. We don’t feel great.”
Constanza hoped that the university would speak up about these changes in a public way.
“And to me, schools should be a second home to all students, no matter what education level,” Constanza said. “And if we can’t acknowledge the problem publicly, we can’t excel as students.”
University administration created four pillars, one of which is inclusive excellence. Olian emphasized this during the panel, as well as a “10-point plan to advance racial justice” and a “commitment to LGBTQ.”
“There is a lot of pain out there,” Fryson said. “There are national policies that are being made that are in direct opposition to this whole idea of inclusive excellence, and to be quite frank, we can’t shield you from that, nor would we try, because that’s where we’re at right now.”
Mount Carmel re-spacing plan
Starting in summer 2025, Quinnipiac will begin to reallocate buildings and spaces across the Mount Carmel Campus.
Major changes include tearing down the Clarice L. Buckman Center and turning the Lender School of Business into a multipurpose building which includes offices and the new Honors Program space.
To learn more, read The Chronicle’s article about the re-spacing plan, which was announced on Feb. 4.
Swipe option for dining plan
In response received by Quinnipiac administration from students, Café Q has a station that is a buffet, “all-you-care-to-eat” style. Students can fill their plate with as much food as they’d like for a set price.
Now, Ellett and his team are looking to add a full meal plan for this style of dining in addition to the meal plans Quinnipiac currently offers.
“The feasibility study is underway right now,” Ellett said. “It would complement us to be a hybrid program where we would still have (meal) points, for say, Bobcat Den or for ShakeSmart or for Starbucks, but then we would have an ‘all-you-care-to-eat’ facility on campus as well.”
Although details are set to be announced at a later date, Olian confirmed new dining facilities must be created to handle this new dining plan. A new dining facility is set to be created with the new re-spacing plan.
Parking
Parking has been a long-standing complaint of students across campus and was brought up to the panel at the State of QUnion.
“Every day I drive 30 to 40 minutes to get here, but I always have to constantly factor an additional 15 to 20 minutes to find a parking spot,” said a first-year student in the audience.
New parking spots will be opened again when the modular buildings behind the College of Arts and Sciences as a part of the re-spacing plan. There are no further plans to add other parkings spaces in other parts of the campus.
Four years ago, Ellett and an MBA class partnered up to come up with a plan to address parking issues. This is how certain lots became designated parking depending on seniority and commuter status. Ellett and the class came to SGA to approve and roll out the parking regulations soon after.
“I will tell you, I have far fewer complaints about parking today than I did four years ago,” Ellett said. “(Your parking spot is) not going to be in front of the door. You are going to have to build in some time. And using the shuttle service is probably one of the best ways you can use the parking system.”
Sustainable energy
Once the modular buildings behind the College of Arts and Sciences are removed, some of the space will be allocated to parking, while other parts will be allotted for fuel cells.
Fuel cells are a sustainable way to create energy and heat.
“Fuel cells work like batteries, but they do not run down or need recharging,” says the U.S. Department of Energy.
In addition to being more sustainable than traditional energy sources, it will allow the university to cut down on costs.
“Probably pretty soon, we’ll put something out with some details so people understand what we’re doing,” Filardi said.
