BY RACHEL GALATIS
The college plans to renovate more student residences and is boosting campus security while continuing fundraising efforts to improve student life, college officials said at the annual State of the Hill.
More than two dozen people gathered at the meeting, hosted by the Student Government Association Monday morning to discuss a wider range of topics such as upcoming residence hall renovations, campus safety updates, budget status, and the school’s transition to Division I athletics.
The meeting started promptly at 11:40 a.m. in the Great Room of the Meehan School of Business. Those who were unable to attend in-person were able to participate over Zoom.
Stephen Cobbs, the student body president, opened the meeting by welcoming five guests: Father John Denning, Pauline Dobrowski, Rochelle Ryan, Craig Binney, and Dean O’Keefe. Each guest provided an update depending on their role at the college.
Denning, the president of Stonehill College, said that it was nice to be able to have everyone attend the meeting in person, as the pandemic has kept the school from doing so in the past.
“It's nice to have a sense of normalcy; this time last year we were still wearing masks,” he said.
Denning said that the school is currently completing the $75-million campaign, with a focus on “driving the van” through Stonehill education. This plan started with building the Meehan school of Business, for which the school is still seeking donations.
He said the college is also reaching out to donors to fund scholarships and student aid.
“People have been very generous to the institution, especially through the scholarship aid,” Denning said.
He said in addition to donors helping to create scholarships, the generosity of the donors has also helped the development of the creation of the center for race, ethnicity, and social justice, which has shaped diversity, equity and inclusion on campus. The next step is to help the school celebrate the 75 anniversary this year.
Pauline Dobrowski, the vice president of student affairs, said that after the recent renovations of the Holy Cross Center and both the junior and senior courts, the school plans to re-do both the O’Hara bedrooms and the Boland bathrooms, as well as the outside of the Commonwealth courts because they look “tired.”
The issue that comes into play is the cost, specifically for the bathrooms due to inflation in the past few years. The school plans to make renovations in order from greatest need.
Dobrowski said that once O’Hara, Boland, and the courts are complete, the next project will be in both Corr and Villa Theresa halls.
When it comes to campus safety, Chief Ryan said someone is always in the gatehouse, and a callbox was added in case a worker needs to leave it unattended for any reason.
There are three shifts on a weekday: members of gatehouse staff from 8:00 a.m. to noon, noon-4:00 p.m., then K9 security from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Students workers have shifts during the day on the weekends, followed by gatehouse security from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Ryan said that the department’s blue light system is in place, where students can press in case of an emergency.
The department also coordinates with the office of accessibility services to drive a student to a destination as needed.
There are also surveillance cameras allowing police to watch the campus remotely.
“We also have a new camera system as of 2021, with about 145 cameras on campus,” she said.
The department also restarted the Rape Aggression Defense program that meets once a week over the course of four weeks and is designed to teach females how to defend themselves. The department also plans to bring back the A.L.I.C.E. program in the spring, designed to teach students, faculty, and staff self-protection in the event of an intruder.
Other new proposals in the works include:
The engineering program is in the process of creating a new engineering lab and moving the photonics lab from across the street in the industrial park to campus, according to Binney, Associate Vice President for Finance and Operations.
The athletic department applied for a grant and hired a new counselor to support student athletes undergoing Division I transition, O’Keefe said.
“Mental health continues to be a priority, and one of the first things done is investing in training for sports and for staff to ‘continue the conversation of mental health,” he said.
A pep band will start in the spring.
The possibility of having an “all you can eat” swipe systems in the Roche dining commons next year.
Denning said he encourages students to ask questions.
“Make us aware. We want to do what we need to do to make campus more accessible; that’s something that is very important to us,” he said.