Senators of the Student Government Association last Monday heard two resolutions, one concerning WVCW, the student-operated radio station, gaining an FM frequency and another on changing the university-wide grading system to a plus/minus system.
In addition, Megan Shandelson, the Senate’s vice chairwoman, resigned her position.
Jessica Lee, the Student Senate chairwoman, sponsored both resolutions, saying one would make VCU’s existing station more accessible to students and the other would create a better grading system for students.
“The FM radio resolution would take WVCW, our current online webcast, and it would put it actually on the air,” she said. “As of right now you need to be (logged) in to the computer system in order to hear our radio station. And we want to make it more of a typical radio station that is actually on-air that you can get from you know, your car, your stereo, wherever.
“And this would just broaden the horizons for our mass (communications) majors who are working on the radio station.”
Jackie Isberner, SGA’s secretary to the clerk, also supported the resolution, saying she hadn’t realized VCU didn’t have a radio station.
SGA Student
Senate Meeting
4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14
Forum Room
University Student Commons
“I usually don’t listen to it, but I think it would be a good idea – for like it would bring the school together,” she said. “And if all other schools have it, I think we should probably have one too. It’s kind of like a thing you expect to have when you come to college, so I think it’s good.”
In addition, Travis Vaden, a senator representing the College of Humanities and Sciences, predicted that an FM radio station especially would help commuter students, so they could listen to it while traveling to school.
“I think the FM radio resolution is a good resolution for the student,” Vaden said.
“I know a lot of students that travel to the school in the mornings that are commuters.”
Since VCU is a big commuter school, he said, students listen to music, they listen to the radio, including some radio programs such as “On the Air with Russ Parr,” a syndicated morning show that airs in more than 45 U.S. cities.
Specifically, Vaden suggested that an FM station would help commuter students by offering important information pertaining to their travel and safety.
“I think it would be good to have a VCU radio station,” Vaden told the Senate, “because they could update on inclement weather, emergencies, all types of things to help them better their day, to be more prepared and to avoid traffic in certain instances.”
Thus, overall he recommended that his Senate peers approve the resolution for an FM radio frequency that could help students drive smoother with perhaps fewer accidents plus help them arrive for class on time.
Moving to the grading-systems revision resolution, Lee said the student government has a way of helping make such changes that are offered in this resolution.
“We, the student government, (have) certain boundaries in which you can actually like enact something,” Lee said. “So it’s basically just telling our administration this is what we want, and it gives us a platform for the student advocates to go to the administration to demand these changes.
“So you know with the SGA, our argument could be a lot stronger.”
Basically, the resolution calls for a plus/minus system similar to Virginia’s other higher-education institutions.
“Essentially we just want everything to be fair,” Lee said, using a correlation analysis to emphasize her point. “We want someone who earned an 89 (percent) to get more credit than someone who earned an 80 (percent), and we want to be on par with other universities.”
Isberner agreed with Lee’s evaluation on the need for VCU to change grades to a plus/minus system, saying she thinks it is a good idea even though she hadn’t previously thought about it.
“But I think she (Jessica Lee) was right about how it’s really not fair if you get like an 89 (percent) which is almost an A, as opposed to like an 80 (percent), which is almost a C,” Isberner said. “You should be counted for that because it will raise your GPA when it comes down to it.”
For instance, if the grading scale were changed, an A- would value a 3.7, a B+ would value a 3.3, while a C+ would value a 2.3 and a D- would value a 0.7.
Vaden’s opinion resembled Lee’s and Isberner’s, but he pointed out that a plus/minus system could create a competitive environment that would motivate VCU students to achieve higher grades.
“So in order to get that A, we all know you have to work,” he said. “So you shouldn’t be put on the same level with someone if you didn’t. So it should be more competitive to make you strive to actually study and get those high grades.”
Data presented with the resolution showed that many universities in Virginia use a plus/minus grading system. These include George Mason, James Madison and Norfolk State, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State universities, as well as the colleges of William and Mary and Washington and Lee.
Only two Virginia universities besides VCU listed in the data do not apply the plus/minus grading system: the Virginia Military Institute and Longwood University.
Later, the Senate accepted nominations for the vice chair position and for the Appointments Committee. Rocky McDonald sent an e-mail advising the Senate that Vaden and Julie Elopre were named to the Appointments Committee and that a new Senate vice chair would be elected at the group’s Nov. 14 meeting.