Penley drops by ASCSU

Any new visitor to the Associated Students of CSU might have

thought the covered table in the back of the ASCSU Senate Chambers

that offered multi-colored cookies, pitchers of water and stemmed

glassware was a regular occurrence at weekly meetings.

In actuality, it was to honor a special guest speaker at

Wednesday night’s meeting.

CSU President Larry Penley popped in at the ASCSU meeting

Wednesday night to discuss current administrative issues and to

give senate members an opportunity to have their questions and

concerns addressed.

“It’s been an interesting fall semester as a new president,”

Penley said in his opening to the senate. “It’s been a wonderful

fall (season) getting to know Colorado and getting to know

CSU.”

Penley told the senate he felt students and faculty were being

very candid about issues at the university, which has made for a

busy semester and has opened a door for change.

“The fate of the university is in our hands,” he said.

One of the issues that Penley discussed with the senate was the

experience freshmen are currently having at CSU and how the current

freshman seminar requirement is not very popular with the

undergraduates.

Penley informed the senate that on Tuesday night the Faculty

Council voted to get rid of the current freshmen seminar

requirement and that the administration has moved toward creating a

different freshmen experience.

He mentioned to the senate that colleges would look at how they

design a “freshmen experience” and will hopefully offer a new

series of seminars that will cover a broad range of topics.

“They will give a taste of something they want to learn about,”

Penley said.

Penley also said the CSU administration is working on developing

a new plan for student recruitment to ensure that quality students

will continue to attend CSU.

Other issues that Penley briefly addressed were guaranteed

tuition and the College Opportunity Fund.

ASCSU President Jesse Lauchner thought Penley attending the

meeting was a sign of his dedication to CSU students.

“It was just one more step in the complete, sincere approach he

has taken to students,” Lauchner said. “He’s made a priority and it

shows.”

Lauchner also said the relationship between students and the CSU

administration grew stronger with Penley’s senate appearance.

“It’s one more step in building trust and helping each other

out,” he said. “Every time we knock, they answer.”

Penley said attending Wednesday night’s meeting was not only to

inform the senate about issues, but also to take the opportunity to

meet with the whole senate and show his appreciation for the work

it has done this semester.

“I’ve been really impressed, these students take

responsibility,” he said.