Story and photo by Katlynn Mullins
Chairs were spread into rows in the University Student Center Ballroom. In front of them, a stage with a wall of windows as the backdrop.
On Wednesday, Jan. 15, the first ever State of the Campus address was delivered to a room of about 40 people.
Regional Chancellor Martin Tadlock and Student Body President Jadzia “Jazzy” Duarte announced milestones from the fall, as well as what students can look forward to in the spring and beyond.
In a few weeks, the ‘Free the Tampon’ legislation that passed in October will enter its trial period.
SG chose Aunt Flow, an organization that specializes in providing tampons and pads to schools and businesses, as the program’s vendor. The company offers two ordering options, dispensers and baskets. Dispensers are meant for higher-traffic areas and are fastened to the wall. Baskets are smaller and meant for low-traffic areas.
SG is purchasing three dispensers to be placed in bathrooms in the Student Life Center, the University Student Center and the first floor of the library.
Originally, there was going to be a basket in the Wellness Center, but SG decided against it because it could “put the confidentiality of the Wellness Center and their clients at risk,” Duarte said in an email on Friday.
Instead, a basket will be placed in the gender-neutral bathrooms located down the hall from the Wellness Center, and another in the gender-neutral bathrooms in the USC.
Tadlock and Duarte also addressed consolidation and some concerns that students and faculty have had since its announcement.
Already-enrolled students will not be affected by changes to tuition and fees, nor will they be affected by changes coming to their degree program if they graduate on time, Tadlock said.
Tuition and fees will increase after “so many years” because a “preeminent university has a higher tuition and fee rate than we do,” Tadlock said. USF Tampa is the only preeminent university in the USF system.
They will, however, be able to take classes on any of the three campuses without affecting their progress.
In September, USF System President Steven Currall announced his Principles of Community Task Force, of which Duarte is a member, and town hall forums set up for students and faculty to voice their opinions.
Duarte encouraged attendance to a town hall forum happening on Thursday, Jan. 23 in the USC ballrooms from 2 to 4 p.m., though a form can be filled out online for those who want to express their opinion but cannot attend.
Accomplishments
The address was also filled with highlights from last semester.
The Support-A-Bull food pantry opened in September in an effort to “spark the conversation,” about student homelessness and food insecurity, Duarte said.
Since its opening, the food pantry has helped about 20 students, has no set hours and keeps its door padlocked most of the time.
Duarte also highlighted the “You Belong Here” campaign and its inclusive efforts.
Of 4,819 students, 91 have been “diversity and inclusion-trained,” and the university’s first-ever Diversity and Inclusion Conference, scheduled for later this semester, has a waiting list of attendees.
The fall-to-spring progression rate is 94 percent, though that number is not final. That means 18 first-time-in-college students did not return for the spring semester, but Tadlock said he “knows who they all are,” and has called them to encourage re-enrollment.
SG implemented an open-door policy to encourage “student engagement,” Duarte said.
SG’s office also got a makeover, and the coffee machine in its lobby now has non-dairy creamer options.
Overall, fall semester was “probably the best semester I’ve had in 39 years of education… it was the first time in my career that we haven’t had, within the first month, some complaints come forward,” Tadlock said.
