Student groups expected to merge

Katie Bennett
News Stringer

Fourteen students attended "Design the Perfect UCB" earlier this month.

The University Center Board's general assembly discussed the proposed merger of the UCB program council and the Student Life Advisory Board March 7 Students were invited to express their ideas about the new programming board.

"I had expected more of a turnout," said Lisa Ramsey, assistant director of campus life. "The students who were there asked a lot of good questions and gave us a lot of ideas."

Everyone who attended the assembly was given a proposed structure of the new programming board, which will be called the Campus Activities Board. CAB will combine UCB and SLAB under the mission statement: "To make SIUE your place to be."

The board will consist of an executive board, committee chairs and appointed committee members. The committee members would represent different groups on campus including student government, the International Student Council, the Black Student Association, housing, faculty, staff and commuters.

The entire group would meet at 1 p.m. every Friday, and the executive board would meet weekly at a time to be announced.

According to Ramsey, SLAB approved the merger March 9.

"UCB and the program council still have to approve the merger," Ramsey said.

Ramsey added that a planning council made of members of UCB and SLAB, student government and staff advisers from the Kimmel Leadership Center will draft a constitution and bylaws and approve the constitution.

Ramsey said she doesn't see anything in the future stopping the merger.

"I certainly hope nothing stops it," she said. "The merger is a good thing and any questions and problems that may arise will just have to be worked out."

According to Ramsey, all the students who attended the general assembly had a positive feeling about the merger.

Noor Ali-Hasan, public relations and Web marketing director for UCB, said she was very happy with the discussion at the assembly.

"A lot of really good ideas and concerns came out of it that I don't think any of us had thought about before," she said.

Ramsey said it makes sense to combine UCB and SLAB to create one group.

"We would be putting our hearts together, so to speak, and collaborating resources to better the campus, which is each group's ultimate goal," Ramsey said.

Dave Adlfinger, program adviser for UCB, agrees with the merger.

"The smaller groups were good when SIUE was a smaller school, but it's growing and it's time for us to step up and grow too," he said.

Ali-Hasan said, "I think the merger will aid us in much of the challenges we face in campus programming at SIUE."