At their last meeting of the semester, held on April 11, Le Moyne’s Student Government Association (SGA) wrapped up the academic year with discussions of ‘Phin Fest and the possibility of a new mentorship program for future students.
According to sophomore representative Emily Ianno, the Le Moyne Student Programming Board (LSPB) has run into some problems in planning for ‘Phin Fest, particularly with regards to the appearance of Gym Class Heroes. The band, which was scheduled to take the main stage at the inaugural ‘Phin Fest on April 28, has reportedly been offered to play another venue that same day.
If they accept this offer, LSPB will either move up the concert time so that Gym Class Heroes plays earlier in the day or they will make arrangements for other entertainment.
“Even if they don’t play, we’re still having a concert,” Ianno noted.
As she further explained, ticket sales for ‘Phin Fest have also not met expectations, which may play a role in the final decision.
“Ticket sales are down, and right now, we’re out thousands of dollars,” said Ianno. “So, we’ll have people outside the dining hall every day really pushing tickets and shirts. People will be able to pay $30 and get a ticket and T-shirt.”
Another point of discussion was a proposal from Jim Joseph, executive-in-residence for the new School of Business. Joseph suggested a program in which all students at Le Moyne would be given a mentor and would be required to do an internship prior to graduating.
While several SGA representatives noted the potential value of a program such as this, the overwhelming response was that the college currently does not have the alumni-outreach that would be necessary to sustain its success. Members also made mention of concerns they would want addressed before instating this idea, even though there are no immediate plans.
Senior James Flannery suggested trying the program with a smaller student population first as a means of piloting the system.
As senior Dennis Carringi, SGA president, pointed out, the career world is all about internships, experience and networking.
“Everybody that I’ve talked to, especially at the Board of Trustees meetings, talk about how students are developing now,” he said. “Whenever someone is coming in for a job, internships are at the top of the list of things they look for.”
Ianno further suggested possibly adjusting the core in order to compensate for the addition of this program, rather than just continuously adding more requirements for students to fulfill.
Junior Nour Sahraoui, SGA multicultural affairs chair, questioned how such a program would be monitored, in that it may prove difficult to keep tabs on hundreds of students’ communications with their individual mentor, as well as their participation in an internship. She also noted that the commitment of mentors and students would vary across the board, which would also affect the program’s success. She even mentioned making involvement optional.
Junior Erica White, SGA secretary, proposed the option for students to either study abroad or take part in the mentorship program, stating that each option provides invaluable experiences and opportunities, and therefore, individuals need not do both.
Juniors Sebastian Notaro and Jules Shelton, next year’s SGA president and vice president, respectively, have agreed to continue looking into this possibility and welcome input from students and their fellow representatives.
The final meeting concluded after brief discussions on the new career services website, Le Moyne Leads, and the central mailroom project. It was decided that both topics would be addressed at future meetings, and that representatives would continue their committee work in the months to come.
Students with questions, comments or concerns are encouraged to voice their opinions by contacting SGA on their website at lemoyne.campusgroups.com/sga. Students are also welcome to attend their weekly meetings each Wednesday at 9 p.m. in 408 Grewen Hall, which will resume at the start of the fall 2012 semester.
