Senior Steve Dalton had a proposition for Board of Trustees Chairman Gary Abramson and President Neil Kerwin at the town hall meeting Monday.
The request? The pleasure of their company at the College Republicans shooting range trip on Saturday.
The target? Democrats, Dalton joked.
Kerwin, a former “urban Boy Scout,” declined the offer.
“We lacked a number of woods-related skills,” he said of his troop.
Abramson said he would ask his son instead.
The Board of Trustees town hall meeting was an open-mic event where students had the chance to ask Kerwin, Abramson and other administrators a variety of questions.
The majority of questions from students centered on environmental issues.
EcoSense President Jennifer Jones asked about adding more science and sustainability courses to the General Education curriculum. Provost Scott Bass said the university is looking to add more of these courses.
Kerwin added that AU needs more work in the sciences, which would include a strong base in science, economics, political science and communication.
Nearly 10 members of EcoSense showed up at the meeting in support of the Clean Energy Revolving Fund, a recent Student Government initiative aimed to increase the amount of green energy AU uses. Kerwin said that it was “very significant” that the number of students who voted for CERF was larger than the number of students who voted in SG elections and called CERF “an extraordinary initiative.”
However, the Board must approve an increase in the fee first.
SG President-elect Nate Bronstein shifted the conversation to the environment outside of campus by asking about relations between AU students and the local community.
Kerwin said while neighbors rarely complain about off-campus parties, the university takes the surrounding community’s quality of life very seriously.
“I’m not naïve enough to think that this will end at some point,” he said of the parties.
Anabel Lee Genevitz of Solidarity, an AU student group, asked the administrators about the university’s role in the community investment campaign.
The campaign’s proposal encourages the administration to transfer 5 percent of the AU endowment’s cash assets into community banks and credit unions, The Eagle previously reported.
The proposal would call for approximately $4.3 million to be deposited into “Community Development Financial Institutions,” such as the City First Bank of D.C. These banks help develop small businesses and communities that do not have good access to financial services.
Kerwin said this was the first he had heard of this proposal, and asked that a formal one be submitted.
Co-Director of Women’s Initiative Jenny Keating asked Vice President of Campus Life Gail Hanson about AU’s plans to hire a full-time sexual assault victim advocate.
The current budget allocates money to open the new Women’s Resource Center and train advisers, but a full-time advocate is not on staff, Hanson said.
Besides Dalton’s invitation there were a few other lighter questions from the students.
One student was met with silence when he asked how the university would celebrate AU’s NCAA tournament win next year.
“When it becomes apparent that we’re heading that way, we will conduct emergency construction on the Nebraska parking lot and build a 30,000-seat arena,” Kerwin said. “That’ll be a good start anyway.”
Other basketball topics included next year’s free throw competition between Kerwin and Bronstein.
Current SG President Andy MacCracken beat Kerwin this year, his first loss in four years.
“I’m still a little raw from the last one,” Kerwin said.
You can reach this staff writer at sdazio@theeagleonline.com.
