University of Alabama President Judy Bonner, alongside Mark Nelson, vice president for student affairs and vice provost, joined students at a table in the Ferguson Center to discuss University affairs and student life.
The lunch resulted from a collaboration between BLEND, which hosts mingling lunches for students every Thursday, and the Division of Student Affairs’s Pulse Check lunch.
“It’s important for the campus to come together as a community,” Bonner said. “I think that this type of thing promotes that kind of atmosphere.”
(See also “‘Discovering Alabama’ owes success to Judy Bonner’s generosity“)
More than 20 students gathered at a designated table to discuss classes, study abroad and the upcoming SGA elections as Bonner and Nelson ate Chick-fil-A. Kaitlin Hartley, coordinator of leadership programs at the University, said the event is important, as it is one of the few informal interactions between administration and students.
“It’s a way for the administrators to show that they care and that students’ opinions are being listened to,” Hartley said.
After small talk about humidity, Syria and homework, students asked Bonner about diversity on campus. She responded with praise for the groups present at the lunch and their commitment to bringing the student body together.
“It seems like BLEND is a great way to bring everybody together,” Bonner said.
(See also “Student groups promote diversity“)
Kevin Jones, a sophomore majoring in chemistry and marine science, said he heard about the event through the Mallet Assembly. He attended to ask Bonner and Nelson about recreational facilities for club sports.
“I thought this would be a good opportunity to talk to Dr. Nelson and Dr. Bonner,” Jones said. “I’m on the rugby team, and we’ve had a lot of issues with practice facilities and getting to practice as much as we need to.”
Anthony James, a sophomore majoring in microbiology and Spanish, attended the event on behalf of UA United Students Against Sweatshops, a club that connects students and laborers around the world to fight for worker’s rights. James was prepared for a direct conversation with administration about Alabama’s responsibility for workers’ rights.
“We’ve been trying for quite a while to get in contact with Dr. Bonner to get the school affiliated with WRC, which is the Worker Rights Consortium,” James said. “The WRC is an independent watchdog organization that will monitor all of the factories that produce UA apparel and make sure that they’re being produced ethically and in sweatshop-free conditions.”
(See also “Group petitions UA to affiliate with WRC“)
Mary Sellers Shaw, a senior majoring in communication studies and civic engagement and BLEND president, said she wants to foster dialogue among students and administration in the future to overcome the social separations that occur frequently on a large university campus.
“We’re really excited this week to be partnering with Pulse Check,” Shaw said. “We’re coming at campus unity from a student’s perspective, and they’re coming at it from an administrator’s perspective, and I think combining both of those is a really cool way for everyone to bridge some of these gaps.”
