BY TUCKER REILLY, MANAGING EDITOR
The faculty senate of St. Bonaventure University has voted to reinstate a common hour for the Spring 2022 semester. The common hour is a time at which no classes can be scheduled, allowing for meetings and other activities around campus.
Meghan Hall, President of the Student Government Association (SGA) and a senior marketing and journalism double major, described the background of the situation.
“I told the faculty senate at the end of last year that I’d really like to have a discussion about bringing the common hour back next [Spring 2022] semester,” said Hall. “When the previous academic scheduling was done, they decided to keep the common hour away [for the current semester] because they weren’t sure what vaccinations and COVID-19 restrictions were going to look like.”
Many organizations had held meetings and events during common hours prior to the suspension. These included club baseball team practices, club meetings such as the Bonaventure Campus Conservationists and SGA meetings – Hall mentioned that SGA meetings since the loss of a common hour have had frequent absences. Additionally, some media around campus such as the Bona Noon News program from 88.3 WSBU was made to fit into the common hour timeframe; the removal of the common hour forced these programs to change their schedules.
Hall had intended to reinstitute the common hour as it was directly before COVID-19 – Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:30-12:45 – but this faced opposition. The motion was amended on the floor of faculty senate and a vote for a Monday-Wednesday-Friday common hour from 12:20 to 1:30 p.m. eventually passed.
“Part of the reason that the motion was amended on the floor was because class scheduling was due several days after the vote,” said Hall.
Dr. Rene Hauser, associate professor of inclusive special education and Faculty Senate Chair, explained the process of the decision.
“Megan Hall put forth a motion to bring back the common meeting time as we had it before COVID-19. The motion was on the agenda and brought to the floor for discussion,” said Hauser. “Like many motions, it was amended on the floor to reinstate the common meeting time of Monday-Wednesday-Friday from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., which was the common meeting time for many years and the spring schedule will reflect that time.”
While the Monday-Wednesday-Friday common hour was eventually selected, it was not the only time the faculty senate considered.
“People in student government were saying, ‘Monday-Wednesday-Friday isn’t really a good time for us, we’d prefer to see it Tuesday and Thursday,” said Hall. “There was some discussion in the Faculty Senate about an 8:30 a.m. Tuesday-Thursday common hour but it would have conflicted with a lot of science and math class times. Part of the reason that Monday-Wednesday-Friday was adopted is because that – according to the provost – is one of the most underutilized places in the class schedule.”
At an SGA meeting on Sept. 22, several students expressed displeasure at the decision, but the body did not end up recommending an immediate motion against the change. Hall described the current plan of action from SGA.
“Students were unhappy, and SGA submitted a letter to Dr. [Joseph] Zimmer [acting President of the university] asking that he reject the decision,” said Hall. “This wasn’t actually possible, because the faculty senate has legislative power and the motion will be enacted. In the October meeting, we’re going to submit a motion to form an ad-hoc committee, in which students and faculty members research an issue together and report their findings back to the faculty senate. If students end up preferring the Monday-Wednesday-Friday time, it’s something that we’re obviously open to leaving as-is. Still, the soonest students could see a Tuesday-Thursday common hour is Fall 2022.”
“I do understand that some students are not happy and want to have the old meeting time,” said Hauser. “One thing they need to consider is that if there are no classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11:30 a.m., then there will be more 8:30 a.m. classes and classes later in the day. Of course, the faculty senate will continue to work with the SGA on this issue and many others to ensure that all students have access to the high quality education that St. Bonaventure provides.”
It remains to be seen whether the new common hour will prove popular with the student body. With course registration quickly approaching on October 29, the schedule is set and will be instituted in the Spring 2022 semester.
reillyt19@bonaventure.edu
