The Kansas State Student Governing Association heard a report from student body president Jessica Van Ranken on Counseling Service’s upcoming move to Lafene Health Center as soon as spring 2018.
Van Ranken, senior in political science, said plans to move Counseling Services to Lafene Health Center from its current home in the English and Counseling Services Building are ongoing. The move is a result of a promise by former university president Jon Wefald that the English department would eventually get its own building.
Van Ranken said there have been concerns that the move did not go through traditional procedures where such plans are presented to students, and that Counseling Services may be less accessible to students from its new location. But the service might benefit from moving to a larger, remodeled location, as well as increased privacy and better accessibility to the greater number of health services Lafene offers.
“Our processes have since changed for student input on any space migration,” Van Ranken said. “It goes through a space migration committee now, which includes students. Because it was made so long ago and has resurfaced over time, there hasn’t been a whole lot of opportunity for student input because it was honoring a commitment that was made a long time ago.”
In other action
Tendai Munyani, international affairs director and senior in management, presented on the progress of the Multicultural Student Center. April Mason, provost and senior vice president, and Pat Bosco, vice president of student life and dean of students, announced a planning group for the center Thursday in K-State Today.
The senate amended its constitution to better reflect actual officer responsibilities.
The senate appointed Will Moreland, sophomore in agricultural technology development, as the College of Agriculture representative on the Tuition and Fees Strategies Committee. Moreland replaces Matt Daly, freshman in animal sciences and industry.
The senate commended Michelle Ragan and Casey Bertelsmann, seniors in architectural engineering, for receiving national scholarships from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
The senate commended the Black Student Union for receiving the Most Outstanding Black Student Union in the Big 12 for the ninth time in 12 years at the Big 12 Black Student Government Conference at the University of Texas at Austin over the weekend.
The senate allocated $700 to the Rotaract Club for the Walk for Water, a 5K walk sponsored by Water Missions International; $600 to the National Society of Pershing Rifles for travel to the National Society of Pershing Rifles National Convention in Jacksonville, Florida; $2,000 to the American Choral Directors Association to host Curtis Gulledge, a professional gospel singer; $1,000 to the Edgerley-Franklin Urban Leaders for a spring break service trip; and $1,300 to the Kansas State Meat Science Association to host a barbecue contest and food safety workshop.
The senate will next meet Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Big 12 Room in the K-State Student Union.