Redundancy towne meeting

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On Wed. Mar. 14, New College students and members of the Sarasota and New College Campus Police Departments gathered in Palm Court for a Towne Meeting.

First on the agenda was a dialogue between students and police regarding the sexual predator who has been targeting New College students in the Bay Shore area off campus. Students voiced discontent over how these instances of home invasion, sexual assault and rape had been made aware to them and asked police for advice on precautions to take to keep themselves safe from this serial offender.  The Feminist Alliance plans to order pepper spray for students, has organized a buddy system that students can use when they feel unsafe walking off-campus at night and is planning a “take back the night” event in the Bay Shore neighborhood. They have tacked up composite sketches of the sexual predator throughout off-campus neighborhoods.

After this discussion, an announcement about room draw was made. An informational session for people applying to live off-campus will be held on Mar. 23, and an informational session on room draw in general will take place on Apr. 9.

New College Student Alliance (NCSA) President Michael Long said that because of continued budget cuts, in-state tuition will be raised by 15 percent and out-of-state tuition may be raised 8 percent in the coming year. He said that he is interested in talking to out-of-state students about this potential tuition change.

The Student Allocations Committee and students approved a motion to buy pool lights for $26,000 so that students can swim at night. Nighttime pool hours will be on call — students will be able to call lifeguards on duty as late as 2:00 a.m. to keep the pool open until 3:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Smoking will not be permitted on deck and a sobriety test will be administered before students can swim in the pool.

Second-year Alex Wyllie talked about starting a scholarship for students based on the interest that student funds earn each year, which is about $12,000. He advocated that students use $5,000 of this money towards a scholarship based on applicants’ community commitment.

Attendees at the meeting munched on Lucky Charms Cereal and salad. Some attendees won slices of Yoder’s apple pie through a raffle and by answering questions related to Pi Day and St. Patrick’s day.

More information on safety measures on- and off-campus will be available in the next issue of the Catalyst. For more info on the NCSA scholarship, see this issue’s article on page (x).

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