A new ad hoc committee or special committee was created by a vote of Allegheny Student Government on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. The committee will work to create a better relationship between the Office of Safety and Security and students, as well as attempt to assist the selection of a successor for Director of Safety and Security Jeff Schneider, who will no longer be filling the position.

Interim Dean of Students Jacquie Kondrot said the change was made earlier this week and Sean Kennedy has been hired as the interim director until a search for Schneider’s replacement can begin. She declined to comment on the reasons behind Schneider’s departure.

According to Kondrot, Kennedy has more than 25 years working in public safety administration. Most recently he has worked at Mount Saint Mary’s of Maryland and Occidental College in California.  

The creation of the committee was brought to ASG for a vote by Senator David Odusanya, ’18.

Odusanya said he hopes the committee will allow students to have more of a voice in the implementation of safety and security policies. He said as of now it is unclear what type of training and experience campus security officers have.

In addition to increasing transparency with safety and security, with the departure of Schneider as director, Odusanya said he hopes the committee will be able to help chose a new director.

“What I would like to see is a set of guidelines for what we want in a director of safety and security,” said Odusanya.  

According to Odusanya the committee on safety and security is important to students on campus. He said he has heard many students express disappointment with how security has been performing its duties.

“A lot of students, including me, feel the Office of Safety and Security is not doing its job,” he said.

Odusanya said he hopes the committees will also encourage members of ASG and their constituents to be more inquisitive of the college administration.

“I think there is an attitude on campus to just accept whatever the administration gives us as fact,” Odusanya said.  

In addition to the committee, which would focus on issues involving security, Odusanya proposed two other ad hoc committees. One would investigate how Allegheny can better help students with mental health needs and the other would focus on bettering communication between students and college administrators.

All three committees were approved by the ASG senate. The committees currently have no members, but Odusanya intends to begin filling them.

Odusanya said his main purpose in proposing the three committees was to, at least, get the conversation started on issues in these three areas.

“These are just some ideas I’ve had for us as a student government…to make productive changes,” said Odusanya.

ASG President Haley Riley, ’16, also provided an update on the search for a new dean of students to replace Joseph DiChristina, who left to take a job at Trinity College at the end the spring 2015 semester. She said after meeting with several of the candidates, she thinks they seem well-qualified and open to collaborating and building  relationships with students.

“They showed me that our previous dean of students was not functioning as well as he could have,” Riley said.

No official date has been released for the final decision, however ASG Vice President Tess Bracken, ’17, said the decision will likely be made before the end of the semester.

ASG Treasurer Hayden Moyer, ’17, also updated ASG members. He said The Association of Caribbean Students was approved for $450 for an event which the group intends to take part in, in November.

“That leaves about $56,000 in the general fund,” Moyer said.

The senate voted for the second week to approve the ROTC Club’s constitution. With the second vote, the organization was approved to be an official club at Allegheny and can apply for funding through ASG.

Next week, ASG is scheduled to meet in the campus center lobby. A resolution to illuminate security call boxes on campus is expected to be voted on at that time. Ron Cole, provost and dean of the college, is also expected to address ASG and answer questions. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10.