The Student Association attempted to live up to its moniker of ‘Defender of the Students’ by hosting Dean of Students Anastasia Urtz during its meeting Monday night.

Urtz gave a presentation to the SA Assembly and discussed the services provided by a variety of organizations within the Division of Student Affairs. Urtz’s office oversees a number of campus organizations, including the Counseling Center, the Office of Greek Life and Experiential Learning, the Office of Judicial Affairs, the Office of Off-Campus Student Services, the Substance Abuse Prevention and Health Enhancement Office and the University Rape Advocacy, Prevention and Education Center.

Urtz described plans for the establishment of an Office of Orientation and Transitions Services. Once the office is staffed, its mission will be to help both incoming freshmen and transfer students adjust to life at SU, Urtz said. One of the office’s chief duties will be to assess the effectiveness of the university’s first-year experience program. The office will officially come into existence in the fall, but students can expect to see the first significant changes in about a year, she added.

Urtz also reported on the status of the existing Division of Student Affairs offices. The Office of Judicial Affairs and the Substance Abuse Prevention and Health Enhancement Office have both seen improvements in the past several semesters, Urtz added.

‘It’s been a very good year on campus in terms of students getting in trouble,’ Urtz said.

Urtz said that the Office of Judicial Affairs has set goals to combat the excessive consumption of alcohol and instances of violence and sexual assault on campus. Efforts to prevent sexual assaults include a series of presentations by former SU quarterback Don McPherson. McPherson will be on campus to lead workshops, lectures and gender-specific presentations on the topics of sexuality and sexual assault, Urtz said.

Urtz reminded SA that in addition to its prevention efforts, the university provides services to those who have already become the victim of rape or sexual abuse. The University Rape Advocacy, Prevention and Education Center handled 16 cases during the fall semester, Urtz said. Some of these cases are not reported to the federal government since they involved incidents that occurred before the student arrived at SU.

In other SA news:

n President Andrew Thomson introduced a draft of the Student Association Budget. After entertaining questions on the draft, Thomson referred it to the Committee on Administrative Operations. The draft will be debated by the SA at a later date.

n Thomson announced that the SA’s Spring Break Return Shuttle was a success. The shuttle ran between campus, the Hancock International Airport and the Regional Transportation Center on March 15 and 16. He thanked representatives David Panetta and John Brenner for their work in organizing the shuttle.

Published on March 17, 2003 at 12:00 pm