College President R. Barbara Gitenstein, School of Arts and Communication Interim Dean Taras Pavlovsky and other members of the College community donned construction hats and shovels outside Loser Hall last Friday evening to ceremonially break ground on the new Art and Interactive Multimedia (IMM) Building.

Several of the College’s student, faculty and staff leaders met last Friday for a round table discussion that addressed issues surrounding New Jersey state budget cuts to higher education and the importance of higher education advocacy.

“Higher education advocacy and budget cuts are obviously two terms that are used a lot by different sects of the College,” Dan Scapardine, Student Government Association (SGA) vice president of Legal & Governmental Affairs, who organized the discussion, said.

With a new name and new plans for campus dining, Sodexo Dining Services was chosen as the College’s dining service provider for a contract commencing on July 1, 2008, although the details of the final contract are still being negotiated, Karen Roth, director of Auxiliary Services, said.

Elliott Driscoll, an expert on addiction counseling, spoke to students about the effect of family systems on alcohol and drug addiction in a lecture titled “Family Systems: Precursors to Addiction” on March 3 in Forcina Hall, the second lecture in a six-part series.

The College’s current contract with Sodexho Dining Services ends in June 2008. The Campus Dining Committee is currently reviewing proposals from five dining services companies, including Sodexho, and is expected to announce the College’s decision by April 1, according to Toni Pusak, assistant director of Auxiliary Services.

Members of the College community no longer have to look to Trenton for the most accurate weather information after the physics department installed a new state-of-the-art weather station at the Science Complex last semester.

Nate Magee, assistant professor of physics, led the installation of the Davis Vantage Pro 2+ weather station, which Magee said is a leader among similarly priced products.

Admission into the finance major program within the College’s School of Business is temporarily closed this semester while the College re-evaluates its acceptance process after a recent surge of applicants, which has nearly doubled in enrollment since 2005.

Student organization constitutions at the College are now required to list “sexual orientation” in a non-discriminatory clause for membership qualifications and address how they plan to fund themselves, among other minor changes, as finalized in a bill passed by the Student Government Association (SGA) at its last meeting.

The Student Government Association (SGA) approved two organizations, the Mars Hill Christian Ministry (MHCM) and the College Club Swimming team, for club status during last week’s meeting.

MHCM, whose name is derived from a Bible passage in Acts 17, is a Christian service organization focusing on meeting the needs of people in surrounding communities while raising awareness on campus about those in need.

Sana Fathima, senator of engineering, said the committee for Legal & Governmental Affairs will be shifting its lobbying focus to the main issues raised by College President R. Barbara Gitenstein in response to the release of the State Commission of Investigation (SCI) report, during the Student Government Association’s (SGA) last meeting.

Jenna Klubnick, student trustee, and Michael Strom, alternate student trustee, attended the Garden State Student Alliance, an association of all the student trustees in colleges in New Jersey, Klubnick announced at last week’s Student Government Association (SGA) meeting.

The College’s School of Art, Media and Music added the department of Communication Studies to its school and was officially renamed the School of Arts and Communication, after receiving Board of Trustees approval on Oct. 2, a campus-wide e-mail announced earlier this month.

The Student Government Association (SGA) approved the College Hellenic Society for official club recognition at the last SGA meeting on Oct. 17.

“The purpose of our club is to unite the students of Greek-American descent and share the Greek culture,” Ioanna Tsakos, junior biology major and founder of the club, said.

Students at the College were given the opportunity to raise questions and concerns about life at the College, regarding everything from parking to meal equivalency, during a Student Feedback Forum hosted by the Student Government Association (SGA). Stephanie Cwynar, vice president of Student Services, led the informal discussion session attended by about 20 students, most of whom were members of SGA.