Students can voice their opinions and concerns about school-related issues at the Nicholls Open Idea Student Exchange (N.O.I.S.E.), a new event sponsored by the Student Government Association this evening in the Plantation Suite in the Student Union from 7 until 9 p.m.
Either Hollie Garrison, SGA director of public relations, or Louis Gardner, SGA students’ rights and grievances officer, will lead N.O.I.S.E. sessions. SGA president Jaret Hubbell, SGA senators, and other SGA officials are expected to attend.
“I hope that students will get more of a feeling that we are open to them and that we’re not this elitist, high-and-mighty, big bad SGA entity,” Garrison said. “We’re here for the students. We want to get the doors open so people aren’t so scared to come back to our office and aren’t so clueless as to what we are and what we do.”
Hubbell thought of N.O.I.S.E. last semester and is implementing it this semester. N.O.I.S.E. should be an informal forum to bring students and SGA senators together so that students who have something to say can share their concerns about school- and campus-related issues.
“We kind of got the impression that students are intimidated to come to the real SGA meetings,” Garrison said. “They’re so formal.”
Student viewpoints on issues and other information gained from these sessions will be discussed during SGA executive board meetings where it will be decided which issues are relevant and how those issues should be dealt with in order of importance. Each senator has a different specialization (different colleges and different problems that he deals with), and the appropriate senator will address each different issue.
Although there are no set dates for future N.O.I.S.E. forums, it is planned to be a recurring event. The meetings will be announced to the students, and students should have plenty of time to know about it, Garrison said.
“It’s not going to be like every month on a certain day that we will have a meeting,” Garrison said. “It’s just going to be that whenever we feel we have not heard from any students in a while and we need to get some more feedback that we will hold (a meeting).”
One of the topics of discussion for the first forum is a proposal for a “no smoking” policy that, if implemented, would mean there would be no smoking allowed anywhere in the residence halls.
“We expect a lot of those students to show up and give us their opinions,” Garrison said. “We want to know whether they think that’s a stupid idea or if they’re all for it.”
E-mails have been sent out to all faculty members inviting them to come, and University President Dr. Stephen Hulbert, Judy Daniels and Dr. Eugene Dial will be receiving special invitations. The SGA is also inviting and encouraging all students to attend the N.O.I.S.E. forum since it is for them.
“To be honest with you, I really do think it’s a good idea, but I probably wouldn’t attend the meetings because I really don’t have time,” Alaina Terrebonne, a freshman from Grand Isle, said. “It’s a good idea, especially with all the stuff that’s going on with the assault.”
“I think it’s a good idea, but I’m never going to go,” Jonathan Neil, a freshman from Chauvin said.
The SGA wants the students at Nicholls to know that they are the governmental body representing and working for the students; the Nicholls SGA exists entirely for the benefit of the students at Nicholls.
“Everything that the SGA does is for (the students) and that’s what we are really trying to get across to the students,” Garrison said. “We’re open all the time.”