President Sharon Hahs addressed NEIU student issues on Oct. 5 in a Town Hall meeting where many questions were asked and answered. Hahs began the meeting by greeting and thanking all those in attendance. She then gave the floor to the NEIU student body.
The first issue that was brought to attention concerned the multi-purpose room located in the Student Lounge. Hareem Razzak, a senior, discussed the difficulty that the Muslim Student Association (MSA) and Muslim students have been facing when looking for a room to hold prayers. They had used the multi-purpose room before (room E050 located by the student lounge under Beck’s Bookstore), but have run into problems ever since the room started being locked.
Hareem shared the concerns of many Muslims, who hope to pray between breaks of their courses and are unable to find space. The room that is used now is much too small and is often crowded. Razzak also informed Hahs that ample space is needed since men and women have to be separated when praying. President Hahs responded by saying that she was not aware that the room was locked and that it was causing a problem with Muslim students at Northeastern.
Veronica Rodriguez, Assistant Director of Student Activities, addressed the issue, explaining that the room needs to be reserved ahead of time in order to be used. Razzak then rebutted by saying, “there is no exact time for prayers, it would be difficult to reserve the room and since it has been locked, no one is really using the room and should be opened.” Rodriguez then proposed to let the practice go on for the remainder of the semester and eventually decide what to do for the spring semester.
Another question asked concerned the university’s current plans for using the Title V grant money awarded to Northeastern. President Hahs answered by explaining how the award is shared by NEIU and the College of Lake County (CLC), and they have to collaborate on how to spend the grant money. Hahs claims that promises with CLC were made on how to use the money. She said that the money is to be used to help facilitate students with graduation programs and also to increase the number of courses at CLC.
The grant was also awarded to aid the Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Science in Accounting degree programs at NEIU. It will be used to expand programs, develop online graduate courses and to provide financial assistance to low income graduate students.
Another student then asked Hahs if the university could set up a computer lab with printers and WIFI access at the P.E. building. Hahs commented that the university has discussed if it was really needed and said that they are not sure if there are enough resources to implement the idea.
Hahs then addressed the issue of a dormitory at Northeastern by stating that a plan is in the works. She also specified how the university has talked to developers, but the university needs to find the funds to go through the plans since they cannot take funds from student tuition.
A Student Town Hall meeting is held every semester at NEIU to listen and answer to questions and comments of the student body.