Alas! Another year passes at Saint Xavier, a year filled with its own problems, successes, excitements and stressors.
We at The Xavierite have been honored to report on the topics that matter to students, faculty and staff at the university. This being our final printed issue of the 2012-2013 school year, we would like to reflect on some of this past year’s key issues.
A major source of student administrator conflict this past year has been changes in resident housing. The temporary closing of Pacelli Hall at the beginning of the school year came as a shock but, in hindsight, it was an omen of things to come. Less then six months later, Saint Xavier’s Parkside Village housing complex had closed, and it was announced that all off campus housing would be closed by the year 2014.
If the complaints made by many of the students forced to relocate from Parkside Village are a predictor of anything, it is that the upcoming closure of all off campus residences will likely be met with resistance from many students.
This will likely widen the rift between students and administrators. Hopefully, the university’s early announcement of the closure will allow for a smooth transition, unlike the abrupt exodus that occurred from Parkside this past semester.
A second theme that has dominated this past academic year has been the quality, service and pricing of dining on campus. We found out through polls and speaking with students that many were disgusted with what they perceived as unacceptably high prices, lack of food variety across the board and rude service specifically at Gilhooley’s Grande Saloon.
We have spoken to Dining Service’s managers several times regarding these issues, and they promise that all student complaints either have been or are currently being addressed.
Let us all hold them accountable for their promises. They promised that the person responsible for poor service at Gilhooley’s has been verbally warned. Let us make sure that, as a result, service at that restaurant does improve. They promised that this Fall, a booklet with nutritional information on all diner products will be made available. Let us make sure this book actually appears.
They promised that they would happily bring in new food items if students only went to them and asked. Let us go to them and ask. They promised that they constantly do everything possible to keep prices low. Let us go around to other schools and venues, compare prices, and determine whether this is in fact true. In essence, when it comes to SXU Dining Services, “trust, but verify,” is the best advice we can give. We will continue to watch them here.
Finally, we have seen a number of significant departures from Saint Xavier this year. At the highest levels we bid farewell to Provost Angela Durante, Library Director Mark Vargas and Sister Sue Sanders. All three made significant contributions to the university’s growth and development and they will be missed.
We have also seen the exits of a number of staff members who were beloved by students, from Emilie Weber Boyce and Gabriela Torres in Campus Life to Brittany Salsman in Residence Life. We thank them for their passion in working with students and wish them great success in the future.
On the flipside, we welcome our new Provost, Dr. Paul Devito, who will be taking office on July 1. We wish him success and luck in his important new position at our university.
We wish you a successful finals week, a relaxing summer and best of luck in your future endeavors. We hope you continue to follow us over the summer at sxustudentmedia.com for continuing content.
The Xavierite Staff