At a talk featuring Jerald Woolfolk, vice president for student affairs and enrollment manager at Oswego State, students brought up numerous issues they were aware of on campus such as racism, renovations and accessibility concerns on campus for the disabled.
Woolfolk is the woman behind many of the well-known and successful campaigns on campus, such as the “I Am Oz” campaign, which she started back in 2014. Woolfolk is known for more than just her successful campaigns on campus. “She’s literally one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met,” said Reid Adler, assistant hall director for Cayuga Hall.
Woolfolk has been working at Oswego State for four years as part of the administration and has been working in higher education for over 30 years in four different institutions. Woolfolk holds meet and greets at the beginning of every fall semester before Thanksgiving.
Woolfolk said the meet and greets are there for students to have an open dialogue about how to improve the campus. It is for the students to talk and for her to listen, she said. Woolfolk begins her talks by having all students form a circle and introduce themselves and where they are from. Woolfolk hopes to create an environment where all students feel comfortable opening up and talking about what can sometimes be viewed as uncomfortable topics.
Racism and diversity were two of the topics that got a lot of feedback from the students. “You can’t just live your life by yourself,” sophomore Nahyro Molina said. “We all have to try to work together.” Many of the students shared the common belief that diversity has increased on campus.
This year is the third consecutive year with an increase in diversity for the freshman class, according to the Dean of Students office. Students also felt that divisions have manifested, as those with similar backgrounds grouped together rather than mix into diverse groups.
Cayuga Hall Council President John Morrissey said Oswego State just needs to “refresh their memory.” Solidifying the idea that students have before and are able to unite with each semester, they need to be reminded of the importance of a diverse but unified campus and be provided the opportunities and gatherings to meet different people. Another hot topic was that of disability compliance within the buildings, especially within those on West Campus.
By law, all buildings on campus must be Americans with Disabilities Act compliant if they were built or renovated after 1990. It was recently brought to the attention of the President’s Board that there are a few buildings on campus without the handicap push buttons to open doors for those who may be in a wheelchair or have another disability that prevents them from being able to open it themselves.
Cayuga resident assistant Taylor Griffin also voiced her concern that the showers, specifically those in Cayuga, do not have a handicap seat, citing that there had been a few instances of people fainting in the showers that could have been prevented if there had been someplace to sit.
Woolfolk listened to all points raised and took notes carefully, ensuring that since it was brought to her attention, a thorough job would be done to ensure that more buildings on campus became ADA compliant.
The meet and greet ended with refreshments and an overall positive attitude. Woolfolk made continuous remarks to what she referred to as “pockets of excellence.”
Photo: Kellsie Zacholl | The Oswegonian
