Unprofessionalism Within the Undergraduate Student Government (Resubmission)
I am resubmitting this feedback after having it get deleted. If SB Voice really is a forum where student voice can be freely expressed and heard, then please do not delete this post again. In case this posting gets deleted from SB Voice, I am authorizing any Stony Brook University student news source to duplicate my post, in order to inform other students about the my concern.
I saved what I originally typed in a separate document in case of such a situation. Although I saved the post as a precautionary measure, I honestly did not think I would need it. Looks like I was wrong. I censored all the pictures to not include any individual names or photos, to respect the privacy of those individuals, so I cannot conceive of any reason that would warrant the deletion of my post. If the Vice President of Communications and Public Relations can use SB Voice to express his desire to "Turn U-Cafe into a strip club", why can't I use it to express my legitimate concerns?
I took a screenshot of my browser's history, displaying proof that a page on SB Voice entitled "Unprofessionalism Within the Undergraduate Student [Government]" (my original post) existed.
Well at least I get to add one thing I did not mention before, the misuse of the "USG at Stony Brook University" page. A post by USG at Stony Brook University claimed that one particular artist was coming for annual Fall Concert. It later commented on its own post, retracting the statement. However, it did so while stating "probs" at the end of the post, making it seem that either the Administrator(s) of the page did not take the alleged hack seriously, or that the account was never hacked in the first place.
The page would later have to make another post (and a comment on that post) stating that the artist would not be coming to the University to help cease the confusion. One of the reasons attendees of the Undergraduate Student Government Student Activities Board's meetings are told not to discuss the potential artists for USG's concerts is because the USG wants to avoid disappointing students by getting them to think the booking of a particular artist is plausible. The organization evidently (as seen from some of the comments) does exactly what it does not want anyone else doing: gets people's hopes up about one particular artist by publicly mentioning the possibility (the post was actually stated in a definite manner) of her arrival.
**BEGIN ORIGINAL POST:
Unprofessionalism is apparent within the USG for a wide variety of reasons. I will focus on one particular facet because of the clarity it provides: the abuse of the USG Facebook Account. I am friends with the "Usg Stony Brook" account because I want to remain informed about USG sponsored events and initiatives. Although the account does provide that information, its activity has recently been showing up on my newsfeed for completely unrelated matters.
The account has posted on an alum's timeline stating, "Why won't you accept my love :(".
It has also commented, "I AM KING" on the same alum's status update which stated, "'Any man who must say, I am the king, is no true king.' -Tywin Lannister".
The account has also "liked" different pictures and statuses of current students, which causes them to appear on my newsfeed.
I would like to unsubscribe from the USG's account activity or even de-friend the account because of this behavior, but that would hinder my ability to quickly access the relevant information the account is intended to disseminate. Checking up on the account manually and not having it appear in my newsfeed would have largely negative implications because the USG's Facebook is its most wide-reaching and fastest updated marketing tool. Timely notice is important, especially considering the fact that advertising for certain events can only happen extremely close to the date of the event, due to contract signings not being able to be completed until then.
The preference and attention the USG account gives to students closely connected to the organization, or rather the members of the organization's Executive Council, only exacerbate the notion that the organization does not put all "students first", but that it puts very specific students first. Comments praising a member of the Executive Council, such as "(I think the new VP o Communications is too good at his job :)", only add fuel to the fire.
Furthermore, statuses about inside jokes such as "tybg" (defined by Urban Dictionary as, "an abbreviation of 'Thank You Based God'.It's a way of showing your thankfulness to Bay Area rapper Lil B The Based God.") come up on the newsfeeds of all 2,025 of its friends (assuming some of them have yet to unsubscribe from the account's activity). The focus of the USG's statuses should be highlighting what the organization did, is doing, or will be doing and not used for “Just expressing our love for Based God". A status like that could really confuse and misinform students, even if the account later comments, “Sorry to everyone, but unfortunately we are not blessed enough to have based god grace us with his presence.”
Last but certainly not least, the current Vice President of Communications and Public Relations used his Twitter account to link to an Instagram post of the account “stonybrookusg”. This came up on Facebook. The post displayed a picture of an item resembling a Nazi swastika (whether or not it was one can be debated, however the VP of Communications and Public Relations implied the possibility by stating, "Bottom of my friends door. He claims its an Indian thing but I don't buy it. #shitler. #wtf #selfie http://t.co/O1xeTw3Dz9”). Even though the post has since been deleted, the fact that it was ever posted is both extremely offensive and careless, not to mention unprofessional.
bring puppies on campus
Can we bring puppies on campus at various points over the semester. (Midterms/Finals). Animals are such a stress reliever.
Bicycle Safety
There should be more of a concern about bicycle safety on campus. Questions should be answered such as where can cyclists ride? Should they follow the same traffic pattern as cars? Should they be allowed across the academic mall? I have often been whizzed by with students riding way too fast through busy crowds. Pedestrians should have certain rights and not to fear for cyclists running them over on their way to class. Also as a driver I worry about cyclists who do not stop at stop signs or wait at intersections. This is what causes accidents and it is a serious problem that should be addressed.
More accesability in sinc site
This is a small idea I think would be easier for studenst, when we log into our accounts in the sinc site computers, I think it would be great if our blackboard, google cloud and solar accounts should be logged in by default saving us time since we already log into our net id when we log in to the computers
We can mention this at the next meeting we have with DoIt!
Health Sciences Library Hours need to be extended! 10PM on Saturdays and 2AM on weeknights at least!
I believe a Mr. Cope actually started working on it last year.
At one of the university senate committee meetings (The Student Life Committee) we brought this up.
What we were told, was that one of the reasons it hasn't been extended was due to a lack of professional staff.
There reasoning for waiting to hire more staff was because they were waiting for the new Library Dean (probably not her title) to be appointed, which happened back in October, so we need to follow up on this, and make sure its still a priority.
Thanks for the comment Derek
why isn't the water fountain near the library not working anymore???
hello, just curious why the water fountain doesnt work anymore
Add Ash Columns Outside West Side Dining
The area around the steps in front of West Side is littered with cigarettes. It would be nice if there could be some of those black ash trays so people could stop littering all over the brand new area
Funding for Greeks
The number one complaint about Stony Brook is the lack of a social life. Greek Organizations bring life to campuses- that's not the case here. Instead, at this overwhelmingly large school, Greek Organizations are left to wither and die due to near complete negligence from any university administration or organization. We're making do with what we have, and we're doing a damn good job- but lend a hand and let us know we exist in your eyes.
Radiohead for the Spring concert!
Provided that they're touring next year. And if not, Atoms for Peace (Thom Yorke from Radiohead, Flea from the Chili Peppers) would be insane. Saw them last week at Barclay's. Incredible live show beyond anything I've ever seen (save for Radiohead)
Lack of Proper Practice Space for Performing Groups
There are so many performing groups on campus and it doesn't seem like there is enough space to have all of them practice their art. Having more practice spaces open is definitely in need.
If performing groups do not have areas to practice, then they will not be able to function as organizations on campus.
WE NEED CHIPOTLE ON CAMPUS!!!! PICANTES SUCK!!
We will definitely pass it along to FSA/Campus Dining next time we meet with them.
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