Commuters Gain Representation through CSA

Organization gives commuters a voice and connection
(originally published in The Johnsonian)

By Jonathan McFadden

mcfaddenj@thejohnsonian.com


With a new office in Dinkins’ former post office, a rewritten constitution and three organized committees, the Commuter Student Association (CSA) plans to continue giving commuter students a chance to express their voices and be engaged on campus.

The group held its first official meeting on Sept. 14 to get more commuter students interested in the club.

Most students who attended the meeting were freshmen.

Jeff Chan, sophomore elementary education major and CSA’s president, said the organization is a chance for commuters to feel as if they are a part of Winthrop’s campus.

“It’s like an RSA (Resident Student Association) for commuter students,” Chan said.

Through its three committees — publicity, events programming and commuter issues/advocacy — CSA plans to give commuter students more of a connection on campus.

The publicity committee, headed by digital information design major Justin McSwain and psychology major Phylicia Burley, will spread the word about CSA and any events they hold.

Chan will be over the events programming committee, and said this committee would try to plan social, educational and service events on campus for commuters.

Chan said he really wants the social events to attract more commuters.

Such events include “Live At Lunch” - lunchtime musical performances by local artists on campus.

Dante Pelzer, program director for off-campus student affairs, said CSA realizes nighttime programming is not convenient for some commuters. Mid-day video game programs and common meeting time drop-in service projects had been offered in the past, he said.

Any programs offered in the future, though, will not only be targeted for students living off campus.

CSA Vice President Jonny Hartnett said residents will be welcome to any events the organization plans.

“As commuters, we sort of bridge the gap between the campus and community,” Hartnett said.

Hartnett, a senior integrated marketing communication major, will also be over the commuter issues/advocacy committee. He said he will be working with and through the administration to address any issues or concerns commuters may have, such as parking.

Hartnett said the organization will try to provide commuter students with better parking, but not if they don’t have a substantial amount of members to make a difference.

“The numbers matter,” Hartnett said.

Hartnett said the organization has recently rewritten its bylaws and constitutions, extending it from about three pages to 14.

CSA has also aligned itself to become a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization as recognized by the IRS.

All personal donations to CSA will be tax-deductible, which will hopefully keep members from having to pay dues, Hartnett said.

Shemeh Shirbabadi, marketing assistant for Dining Services, attended a CSA meeting to discuss commuter meal plans and asked commuters what they would like to see at Markley’s Food Court, Thomson and other food locations on campus.

Some ideas thrown around include having free food, bringing back Subway and adding healthier food options.

CSA now meets in the old Winthrop post office in Dinkins.

Hartnett said Dinkins was chosen as an office space because of its availability and convenience for commuters.

Because the commuter parking lot is adjacent to Dinkins, commuters will not have to walk to the campus center for their own “niche,” Hartnett said.

The group also plans to petition the Council of Student Leaders (CSL) for an automatic member position on CSL.

Sydney Evans, chair of CSL, said she pushed the resolution last semester, but the commuter organization fell apart and membership was never awarded.

Evans said she, Chan and Hartnett have been working to put together a written resolution that will be presented to the council.

If two-thirds of the council approve the resolution, then CSA will be awarded membership.

LABOR OF LOVE

It's not too often that I find the time to randomly blog.

Actually, I've barely done that.

So, here goes:

First, a little bit about myself. I am Jonathan McFadden, a junior mass communication (emphasis in journalism) major at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C. I'm also the assistant news editor for The Johnsonian (Winthrop's student newspaper), as well as student leader for Taking Opportunities to Prevail Campus Ministry. Both of these "jobs" require a lot of time and attention.

As a junior, I am currently taking 18 semester hours.

I'm vice-president for WU's chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists

I'm active in ministry.

I'm a good student.

I'm sleepy.

Sometimes, my responsibilities collide like a rushing tidal wave. The wave feels like it can push me over the edge onto jagged rocks. Other times, I feel like crawling into a hole and taking a long nap. But I can't do that. God has a plan and purpose for my life. He has placed me in a mission-minded ministry. He has placed me in a rigorous academic environment. He has also placed me on the staff of a newspaper that values experience, accuracy, hard work and personal improvement.

While it can almost be too much at times, it's a labor of love.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says God will not put anything on us that we can not bear. I believe that fully. I also know, from experience, that we sometimes put more on our selves than we have to. Still, The Johnsonian & Taking Opportunities to Prevail are labors of love.

I love God. I love God's people. I understand the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) and I seek to follow it.

I love the writing and reporting. I love talking to sources. I love crafting a story and trying to make it better than the last. I love the pumping adrenalin of an immediate deadline. I love seeing my byline in print.

These are labors of love. These are my current preoccupations.

This is a really random blog...got to start somewhere.

Hometown Hero: Jessica Jeter

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Habitat

WALK2CAMPUS TO POTENTIALLY PURCHASE OLD WINTHROP LODGE

Walk2Campus, which has enjoyed a beneficial partnership with Winthrop, may purchase the old Winthrop Lodge and give students new housing options.


Walk2Campus Properties won a bid to purchase the Lodge, a privately-owned motor lodge on Oakland Avenue that was purchased by Winthrop in the 1980s, to be used as additional student housing.

Brad Hastings, owner of Walk2Campus, said the bidding contract is currently in the due diligence process, which means Walk2Campus is working with zoning officials to ensure the project receives the zoning it needs.

Hastings said they are also making sure the building costs aren’t out of line with their original assumptions, and that students will actually lease the product.

“All of those questions need to be answered before we could move forward with the project,” Hastings said.

While there is no definite answer as to what the project could potentially cost, Hastings said if the project were to be approved, then there are a number of possibilities Walk2Campus could explore with the Lodge, ranging “from renovation to new build.”

Kathy Bigham, chair of the Winthrop University Board of Trustees, said that while she cannot say too much about the legalities and contractual matters of the purchase, she thinks the news about the Lodge will be positive.

Rebecca Masters, assistant to the president for public affairs, said that when the Courtyard was completed in December 2002, students living in the Lodge were transferred there. Since then, the front space of the Lodge, which faces Oakland Avenue, has been used as offices for Facilities Design and Development staff, Telephone Services staff and even as studio space for art students from time to time.

“The remainder of the space has been used for storage,” Masters said.

Masters said that, over the summer, telephone services was moved to an Oakland Avenue location that was closer to campus. The Lodge is still used for storage.

Walk2Campus has enjoyed a beneficial relationship with Winthrop.

The off-campus student housing company, which began with Longwood University in Farmville, Va., wanted to discover another market.

Hastings said that, after a search, Winthrop proved to be a school that was similar to Longwood in size and trajectory and was a good market to provide safe, higher-end housing close to campus.

Another Walk2Campus location includes SUNY Cortland in Cortland, N.Y.