Newspaper Page Text
Monday, May 4, 1998
THE MAROON TIGER
PAGE 5
Jones Setting the Stage for Great Leadership
Student Government Association Executive Board
ELECTED OFFICERS
Christopher Michael Jones Junior President
Ronald Caishe Falls
Alkhyseam Watson
Sophomore
Freshman
Vice President
Recording Secretary
J.C. Love HI
Freshman
Corresponding Secretary
Antoy Jalon Bell
Sophomore
Treasurer
Michael V. Roberts Jr.
Freshman
Junior Board of Trustee
Demetrius J. Ingram
Sophomore
Senior Board of Trustee
Continued from page 1
But Jones wants students
to know that it is not so much
as what he does personally
but what the student body is
going to do as a collective.
"The stage is set for great
leadership, but students have
to have the mindset that
'yeah, we're going to get
things done things next year,’"
said Jones."So what I want to
do is give students that
venue."
Jones believes the key to
accomplishing this is to instill
in students "a sense of
ownership in the College."
And thus, he thinks it is
important to include student
clubs and organization in the
planning of all SGA-
sponsored events.
"The more students are
involved, the more the spirit
and participation," said Jones.
A self-described optimist,
Jones says his greatest
weakness is thinking he can
do it all.
"My delegation skills pose
the greatest challenge for me,"
said Jones.
"Sometimes, I like to get so
involved in things that
sometimes I'd just do things
myself as opposed to delegate
it to someone else."
Jones' ascension to the
ranks of the elite has largely
gone unnoticed. But one
thing's for certain — his new
title and challenges as SGA
president is sure to give him a
taste of the pressures and fame
of being in a class of his own.
But Jones is quick to point
out that — in the end after he
has given it his best shot —
"this too shall pass."
Shaun Spearmon/STAFF
Interim director of Housing, Robert Connor (1), explains the
changes in the housing policy to Dwight Eskew, a Sophomore
Biology major.
Students
Scrambling
for Slots
Continued from page 1
And the college believes
that it's only fair the remainder
of the assignment be based on
the luck of the draw.
"The lottery system takes
the housing assignment from
a subjective to an objective
process, from giving the
students an opportunity to
pick rooms to a process that is
random," says Robert Connor,
interim director of Housing.
"The old system
benefitted two or three
hundred students but the rest
of the students didn't know
where they were going to be
until August," he says. " Now,
the students know before they
go home in April, and those
who think they might not get
housing will have more time
to plan."
But try explaining that to
the students.
Some, unaware that other
colleges employ similar
methods to place residents,
Stacey Grayson, director of
Off-Campus Student Affairs,
says students who pay their
deposit by June 8 stand a
good chance of being housed,
regardless of their lottery
number.
have called into question the
fairness of the process, while
others believe the college has
more slots than it's willing to
part with.
Not so, says Connor.
"Students have this
misconception that
Morehouse has enough bed
space to house everyone and
they choose not to," he says.
"But it's a case of simple
economics; demand is greater
than supply.
"And when you have a
situation like that, there really
won't be any vacancies."
For its part, the college has
been "saturating the campus
with information," as Connor
puts it, so that students can
explore other options. Last
month, it hosted a housing fair
to help students comparison
shop between over two dozen
apartment complexes.
What the college won't do
is house students in an off-
campus location, like it did
this year.
Connor says the Howard
Johnson placements were
necessitated by an overflow of
freshmen at the last minute.
"In the old system, we
guaranteed all freshmen on<-
campus housing, and since we
couldn't inform the returning
students ahead of time, we
had to place them too," says
Connor.
Next year though,
freshmen will not be required
to stay on campus, and so the
college doesn't foresee a repeat
of the situation, Connor says.
But is the college looking
into any avenues to increase
on-campus housing in the
future? Well, yes and no.
There are plans to
construct a new dorm in the
tract of land behind Woodruff
Library, where the ROTC
offices are now housed. But
the problem is funding.
"I can't give you a specific
date when we'll be breaking
ground, but efforts are
ongoing to obtain necessary
funding to build a new dorm,"
says James Hall, vice president
for Campus Operations.
But none of this helps
Lucas, who'd rather stay on-
campus, but with a lottery
number like 1167 is unlikely to
do so.
"Instead of building
Massey a house, they need to
build a new dorm," he says.
"Shoot, let some students stay
in his house. I know he has
some extra beds."
But all hope is not lost for
Lucas, says Stacey Grayson,
director of Off-Campus
Student Affairs.
"The lottery numbers are
not set in stone and the cut-off
date is June 8th," he says. "If
the students haven't paid their
deposit by then, their names
are stricken and we move on
to the next name.
"And historically
speaking, no one pays their
money on time at Morehouse."
For the first time in his
hour-long meeting, Lucas' face
lights up. He puts the rental
guides down and leans in
closer, mulling over this new
revelation.
Later, Lucas confides that
he will be putting off
apartment hunting for now,
and will instead deposit $250
to secure a room on-campus.
"I trust the students to
keep doing what they have
been doing all this time," he
says, breaking into laughter.
In the meantime, Lucas,
like many of his Morehouse
brothers, will be keeping his
fingers crossed.
