New judicial appointment: This week we began interviewing students for the position of associate justice on the Student Judicial Board. The process was very competitive, and unfortunately we had only a single vacancy. However, we eventually had to come to a decision. Of the eight applicants, there was one who stood out.
Jibran Muhammad has been able to overcome a countless number of obstacles in his life. He brings with him a unique set of skills and experiences that make him more than qualified for the position of associate justice.
These qualifications not only illustrate Jibran’s dedication and work ethic, but they also demonstrate his maturity and intelligence. Jibran’s extensive real-life experience has endowed him with a strong sense of fairness, objectivity and open-mindedness.
For a full bio of Jibran, please visit www.vcusga.com.
Advising: For the past month, the student Senate has been working with the University College to improve the effectiveness of the university’s academic advising system. In this effort the graduation worksheet has been updated and revamped. This is a very reasonable goal and potentially would entail the implementation of checklists for students at 30, 60 and 90 credits. This checklist could include:
Ensuring that all students are acquainted with their respective faculty advisers and have their contact information available;
Reviewing students’ progress toward fulfilling obligatory general education requirements and looking for courses that can fill both gen-eds as well as the specific requirements for their majors;
Recommending courses students should consider taking over the next two semesters;
Helping students determine the best options for deciding on a concentration within their major;
Discussing areas of overall concern for students such as the usefulness of certain prerequisites;
Ensuring that all students are aware of the various resources that VCU has to offer, including the Campus Learning Center, counseling and financial aid (the latter for which some people don’t know that everyone is qualified);
Encouraging things like study abroad, professional organizations, service learning, volunteering and whatever activities can be taken advantage of to help students become thriving individuals and get a handle on their own education.
This checklist will help to reduce any potential barriers to a student’s academic success. I welcome any comments, questions or feedback. Please e-mail me at sgapresident@vcu.edu.
Continuing with the topic of student organizations, the Presidential Roundtable is getting into gear with its first meeting of the year 7:00 tonight. It is important to keep in mind that attendance at two of the three semester meetings is mandatory in order to secure funding for the following semester. If you would like to have some questions answered regarding the Presidential Roundtable, please direct them to Kaitlin Bowles at SGAExecdir@vcu.edu or take a look at the VCU SGA Web site at www.vcusga.com.
President Faruk’s column appears every Monday in CT Opinion.
As always, if you have any questions or comments (or snide remarks), email them to me anytime at SGApresident@vcu.edu. Thanks for your time!