University President Morton O. Schapiro attended Associated Student Government Senate on Wednesday night to discuss diversity, community-building and the value of student involvement.
The first question Schapiro addressed was about efforts to improve diversity and inclusion at NU. He acknowledged lack of diversity is still a problem on campus.
“Some of our numbers are pretty embarrassing, particularly given where we are located, in an urban environment,” he said.
Schapiro said efforts to improve diversity will likely include “sweetening” existing financial aid packages and launching a pilot program to attract students from Evanston and Chicago. The other aspect of this goal is to make students feel they belong once they arrive on campus and to make NU a more appealing option for prospective students.
“We are undersold in the market,” Schapiro said. “It’s hard to explain, given how prestigious this university is. There is the perception that we don’t have a good sense of community.”
He said the “north-south divide,” the relatively low percentage of undergraduates living on campus and the fact that NU has six undergraduate schools all contribute to the perceived lack of community.
“My first impression arriving here in September is that we need to do more things like Dance Marathon and Dillo Day,” Schapiro said. “We need to figure out funding; we need the right spaces. … That is why we did the Great Room; that is why we are doing another version (of the Great Room) this summer.”
Throughout the discussion, Schapiro urged students to approach him and his administration with their opinions.
“Without student input, we would be in the dark,” he said. “You will always find my door open. I am not always convinced, but I am always open, and my whole administration is going to be open.”
Later in the meeting, Senators unanimously passed a bill to grant $1,500 from the Senate amendment pool to fund a new University-recognized student group, Lending for Evanston and Northwestern Development. LEND identifies “low-income Evanston borrowers” with sound business ideas and provides them with small loans to finance their businesses, said Senator Ravi Umarji, who authored the legislation.
Off-campus Senator Jeff Cao spoke in favor of the bill.
“The pool exists to fund unique projects like this that would not be funded otherwise,” the Weinberg senior said.
Senators also passed a bill requiring the ASG president to give an annual State of the Union address during Fall Quarter “to announce his or her vision for ASG” and enhance ASG’s relationship with the student body. Senator Austin Young, a Weinberg sophomore, presented the bill.
This week senators received the Student Groups Committee’s funding recommendations. Next Wednesday ASG will vote on funding for B-status student groups.[email protected]
