The President’s Student Advisory
Council Update (PSAC) meeting was held on
January 21, 2015 in the President’s conference
room President Cramb, Provost Bronet and 10
PSAC members were present The discussion
was geared around the subjects voted in the
previous members’ meeting on January 18th
2015 They were articulated as follows:

Concerns about the board of
trustees: The President was asked about the
participation of trustees in career fairs and the
lack of involvement they have on campus He
acknowledged that the PSAC already voiced
that concern and that he will present it to the
board at their next meeting on February 181

The school’s position concerning
diflicult weather: The President was asked
to clarify the school’s position concerning
difficult weatherl Many students expect that
the school would close in condition of heavy
snow or very low temperature The President
agreed about clarifying that the school will not
close PSAC members expressed their concern
regarding commuter students who would be
more likely to be affected by the weather and
asked President Cramb if the teachers could
be more understanding of their situation They
proposed that late arrival and absences due
to the weather get treated on a caseebyecase
basis by the teachers The President agreed to
discuss the subject with the faculty counselor
before making a decision

 

 

Student newspaper of Illinois Institute of Technology since 1928

President's Student Advisory Council meeting addresses student concerns

Naila Opiangah
TEC H N EWS WRITER

Concerning the school’s faculty:
The PSAC members asked the President
and the Provost to clarify the hierarchy and
organization of the school’s faculty so students

get a proper understanding on the role of
each memberl In fact, they believe that many
students do not know where to go and how to
proceed when they face particular situations
It was also asked that Deans be made more
accessible and tighten their relationship with
the student body Both President Cramb and
Provost Bronet agreed to the request to discuss

     

with the Deans about it The members also
talked about the situation of several professors
who push students to attend classes and work
beyond the assigned timer The Provost decided

Photo by Naila Opiangah

to talk to vice Provosts in order to make sure
that faculty members avoid making a similar
situation happen again

The true cost of living off-campus:
The PSAC wanted to gather data and analyze
the number of students living offcampus and
the financial causes for that They expressed
their will to do a thorough study and present it

technewsiit.com

OPINION 2-3

CAMPUS 3-5

AErE 5-6
SLIPSTICK 1
SPORTS 1

to President Cra.mbl It was suggested that they
put together a survey that will be shared to the
student body The President encouraged the
approach and assured the support of his office
Yet he requested that the comparison between
students living on and off campus be fair and
acknowledge every element involved in both
cases

The President acknowledged the bad
performance of the meal plans and asked for
the PSAC to come with a set of suggestions
to better it PSAC members also voiced
their concern on how the food served in the
Commons is presented and wished that more
care was given in the preparation of the meals
President Cramb agreed that a better approach
should be taken by the Commons

Concerning Vandercook and
Shimer: It was asked that IIT collaborate better
with Vandercook and Shimer The students
attending these colleges are often unable to
participate in the school’s activities due to their
class schedule that is not articulated around
those of IIT students It is an unfortunate
situation for them because theytoo pay for SAE
President Cramb explained that he already
had a discussion with Shimer’s administration
about lining up coursesl He has not had a
conversation with Vandercook administration
yet but wished the students of both colleges
expressed their concerns regarding the link
up in order to have an effective discussion In
fact, if the students of these colleges do not feel
the need to link up their schedule to IIT, the
discussion would not be relevant

Information sessions to be held for Museum of
Science 8 Industry volunteer, internship positions

Kori Bowns
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The Museum of Science and Industry
(MSI) is the largest science museum in the
western hemisphere, holding over 35 thousand
artifacts and nearly 14 acres of interactive
exhibits and experiences The museum’s home
is the former Palace of Fine Arts building
from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition
in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, and it
opened in 1933 under philanthropist Julius
Rosenwald’s vision to create a handseon
industry museum in the United States Each
year, the museum works toward achieving
its mission to “inspire the inventive genius in
everyone" with the help of several Illinois Tech
studentsl

Each semester, undergraduate
students from IIT have a unique service

 

learning opportunity at the Museum of
Science and Industry through the MSI
Internship Program Students apply to spend
a few days during the semester volunteering at
the museum, leading science demonstrations
to the museum’s general audience Volunteers
who complete a required minimum number
of volunteer hours at the museum also qualify
to apply for a paid internship at MSI over
the summer Last year’s internship students
learned a variety of demonstrations and
presented them to over 35 thousand museum
guestsl

In order to become eligible for
the internship, students must first attend an
information session held early in the semester
and apply to volunteer at the museum over the
course of the fall or spring semester during
the academic year During the semester, these
students learn to present three interactive and

handseon demonstrations to museum guestsl
Volunteers work alongside lead interns, who
were summer interns in previous years, to
receive coaching and support as they learn
more about presenting to different audiences
and speaking in public Demonstrations done
by volunteers cover topics including sound,
electricity, and Newton’s Laws

Twelve volunteers are accepted to
the program each semester Upon completion
of 20 total volunteer hours in a semester, the
volunteers qualify to apply for one of the
summer internship positions, where theylearn
larger programs and work fulletimel

The MSLIIT internship partnership
is now entering its eighth yearl This
partnership began with a common trustee
between IIT and MSI, and the program aims to
foster communication skills in students while
making science education accessible to the

community through the delivery of several fun
and interactive live science demonstrations at
MSIl

In order to apply for the MSI,
IIT volunteership and internship program,
interested students must attend information
sessions being held next month on Tuesday,
February 9, Wednesday, February 10, and
Thursday, February 111 All of the information
sessions will take place at 12:45 pm;
Tuesday’s information session will take place
in the MTCC Executive Conference Room,
Wednesday’s information session will be held
in the MTCC Auditorium, and Thursday’s
information session will be held in Rettaliata
Engineering Center room 1241 Contact Kylie
Kosulic at kylielkosulic@msichicagolorg with
any additional questions

 

Photos by Kari anns