Students who weren’t able to participate in the Feb. 11 and 12 Slope Day forums will now be able to give their input to the Slope Day steering committee via an on-line course site.
The forum, which is set up like a course information site, contains features such as a live discussion board and important documents, including contact information for the steering committee, the preliminary recommendations to President Hunter R. Rawlings III and his charge to the committee.
According to Susan McNamara, assistant to the dean of students, “We wanted to set up a bulletin board for students that was interactive.”
McNamara said that since many students were unable to participate in the live forums, the on-line forum gives them a good chance to express their opinions.
“We wanted to create an opportunity for them,” she said.
McNamara also said that the site is a great way for students to “talk with each other and committee members” regarding Slope Day. “The steering committee wants as much information as possible,” she added.
Uzo Asonye ’02, student assembly president and steering committee member, said that the steering committee wanted the Slope Day discussions to be more expansive.
“We should try to reach out to the community as much as possible,” he said.
According to Asonye, the site is important because it is a “good way to speak to people on the steering committee.”
Asonye said comments and discussions on the website would be considered in future committee meetings.
“We definitely will be looking at them,” he added.
Comments that are on a specific part of Slope Day will be considered by the appropriate committee member.
Asonye said, “If someone made a comment … it would be forwarded.”
Dean of Students Kent Hubbell ’69 said that the forum “came up in discussion as a good way to gather information from students.”
Hubbell said that he hopes the forum will continue as a way for students to express their opinions on Slope Day in the coming years.
“It’s not just for this Slope Day,” he said, “we expect to keep it up for a couple of years.”
McNamara said that so far the numbers of students accessing the Slope Day information site has been promising.
“It looks like it’s working,” she said.
Recently, Rawlings approved the initial recommendations made by the committee for changes to Slope Day. The major change suggested in the recommendations is to prohibit students from bringing hard alcohol onto the slope. Limiting soft alcohol was also a consideration. The committee also considered and decided against fencing off the slope and adding check points.
Other alternative parties in addition to the University-sponsored celebration held on west campus in past years were discussed.
These include ideas such as a freshman breakfast to celebrate the last day of classes. A main concern that will be discussed is the problem of students attending off campus parties in an effort to drink before the Slope Day celebration. Other possible changes to Slope Day include providing tents at main entrances and a disc jockey to play music on the slope.
According to Hubbell, the steering committee expects to conclude its discussions during its meeting this week.
“We hope it [the meeting] is the last one, but you never know,” Hubbell said.
Students can access the site by going to http://courseinfo.cit.cornell.edu and registering for the forum.
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