Jan. 27 served as the KSC Student Assembly’s first meeting post winter break. At the meeting, first-year treasurer Karen Cisneros mentioned the budget committee’s Jan. 30 meeting, where they discussed cost sharing and the email that would be sent out to clubs and organizations regarding funding.
Also present at the meeting were Resident District Manager Samantha D’Angelo, KSC Dining Executive Chef Austin O’Hara and Marketing Manager Kala Clark on behalf of KSC Dining. O’Hara and Clark had spoken at previous student assembly meetings earlier in the academic year, and returned to share the results of several surveys conducted last semester.
O’Hara said that made-to-order foods and customization were trends found through the surveys. He said that the dining services team was looking for more options they could add for self customizing the food offered in addition to what’s already provided, such as the sautee station and made to order pasta bar.
Clark shared that the response rate from students had improved this year, with a twelve percent increase in responses to the surveys. Ninety percent of the students who responded to the survey’s were on-campus with meal plans, which Clark said represented the majority of Keene’s student body.
Clark also said that students had requested healthier food options in the retail spaces on campus, which may lead to healthier “specials” being offered in those areas.
Representative senior Nathan Hope asked what the decision making process was regarding the on-campus Starbucks being closed on weekends. D’Angelo, the resident district manager of KSC Dining, said it was something that had been discussed and decided upon due to it having the least amount of impact on student experience, while keeping the cost and labor of those who would work it on weekends in mind.
D’Angelo also added that meal plans won’t be changing anytime soon, and the team was ultimately looking at the new data from the surveys and working off of that.
In regard to the surveys themselves, Clark said, “This gave us a lot of top-level data. We have another survey that gets into the nitty gritty, and those are the focus groups that are hot off the press Feb. 23 and 24. We just planned it for those days. That’s where we do smaller groups.”
Clark also said that around March, additional things may be added to the retail side of dining as well as the Zorn Dining Commons based on what students ask for during the focus groups.
In addition to the guest speakers, Speaker senior Amanda Rotigliano announced that there are two open positions for the student senate, one that was previously held by Rotigliano.
First-year representative Collin Linderman self-nominated and was elected to a position on the KSC Senate, leaving one seat vacant.
Rotigliano also said that she and Jen Ferrell, the associate vice president of student affairs, had been working together to get more guest speakers in for future assembly meetings.
One of those speakers will be Kirsti Sandy, the interim provost, at the Feb. 10 meeting. Sandy intends on listening to student concerns, and has said that she would like to appear more regularly at the meetings, according to Rotigliano.
Director of the Wellness Center Barbara Berthiaume will be informing the assembly members and any students who attend the open meeting on what the center offers and any changes as of this semester.
Student Body President junior Kylie Nelson announced that carnival planning had begun, with plans being made and people reaching out regarding rides. The event theme will align with its title [carnival].
Additionally, Nelson proposed the idea of a podcast occurring once a week or once every two weeks featuring guest speakers such as students, staff or faculty to talk about their experiences and activities on campus.
Associate Vice President of Student Affairs Jen Ferrell said that her team had been working through all of the staffing changes that occurred in November, the result being some areas having additional work, some positions being completely eliminated, and in general things still being adjusted. Ferrell said that her title, which was once associate vice president of student engagement, would now be vice president of student affairs.
Samantha Menard can be contacted at
Hope is the managing executive editor of The Equinox and had no part in the editing of this article.
