On Monday, October 17, 2022, the Student Government Association and President Lindgren’s Cabinet invited the Randolph-Macon community to gather for the semi-annual President’s Fourum in Suntrust Theater. The forum presents an opportunity for students to come together and share their comments and concerns about the school directly with the Student Government representatives and the President’s Council so changes can be made.

While students filed in to fill the main theater, Grant Azdell (Dean of Students), Alisa Rosenthal (Provost and ​​Vice President for Academic Affairs), Paul Davies (Vice President of Administration and Finance), Kurt Baumbach (ITS), and Robert Lindgren (President) took their seats in front of the gathered students, preparing to learn from their students. In addition, faculty representative John McManus (Computer Science) was in attendance as a student-faculty liaison.

Primarily, the night was utilized for members of the President’s Cabinet to share ongoing administrative proceedings encompassing ITS and dining concerns, with time reserved for students to individually raise concerns as well.

In the IT department, Kurt Baumbauch responded to student concerns about WiFi access concerns in Thomas Branch, Freshman Village, and Birdsong Townhouses, advising all students to continue to fill out work orders as problems occur in order to address issues head first. Future plans to improve campus wireless access include continually adding access points across campus to improve overall wireless connectivity.

Baumbach also shared that cybersecurity training technology being released to the campus community is proving to be effective as phishing test emails have demonstrated susceptibility to falling for phishing scams have fallen from 25% to 2.5% click rates across campus. In addition, to better protect the Randolph-Macon community from cyberattacks, the ITS department has enrolled students in training campaigns for dealing with ransomware. Finally, Baumbach reminded all students to back up their work and continue using the phishing alert button embedded in Outlook to report potential phishing attacks to the ITS department. In the case that you believe your computer has been compromised, call the ITS department for support.

During the President’s Forum, two representatives from Parkhurst were in attendance to share information regarding the new dining services and address student concerns. Most importantly, Parkhurst representatives encouraged all students to use and make other students aware of the Comment Card QR Codes on the napkin holders on the tables in Estes so that concerns can be known and addressed appropriately. In addition, students were encouraged to follow Dining at RMC on Instagram to stay informed on special events and menu items, as well as to reach out directly to R-MC’s Parkhurst representatives as needed.

For those who wish to address concerns in person, stop by the Dining Committee meeting in Estes at 12:30 every other week. The next meeting will be on November 2, 2022, in Estes.

For further general student concerns, reach out to the Student Government Association or stop by the SGA Room on a Tuesday at 12 pm.

Additional Student Dining FAQs:

• Will more plant-based protein options be added to Brock and Estes?
  • Yes, more options will be provided as supplies become available.
• Can more Gluten and Dairy Free options be added to the mini-fridges in the center of Estes?
  • There is a lot of overlap between the different fridge options and the small bar at the end of the salad bar is an area free of the top 9 allergens.
• What are the new Estes hours?
  • Estes now has a continuous open dining plan, so there is no restriction on when you can go use a swipe to get food.
• What sides come with meals in Brock?
  • You can either choose fries or a bag of pre-packaged chips from the racks by the register, but the bottled drinks are not included in a meal swipe.

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