"Library hours secured, Assembly fights grade policy changes"

Thanks to resolutions passed unanimously by the Student Association Assembly, students will soon see more blue-light emergency phones, better campus lighting and extended hours at the Undergraduate Library.

Protection against the Faculty Senate's changes in grading policy, however, may prove harder to come by, as the power of the Assembly's rebuking resolution is limited.

Assembly Chair Hassan Shibly called the blue-light and library resolutions a real victory.

"There have been break-ins and there have been crimes on campus, and that's something that may be more easily prevented just with the lighting," he said. "We can go from there and see what else needs to be addressed regarding safety."

While there are still minor details to be worked out, Shibly said the new lighting and phones should be installed next semester.

The library resolution passed by the Assembly last year to extend operating hours at Capen will also become a reality in the fall. Before being carried out, the student-run legislature's proposal had to be accepted by university officials, which it was at the end of March.

"There's a lot of red tape we had to go through with the administration," Shibly said. "The administration came to an agreement that they will finally uphold the resolution."

After working out the details, UGL is set to be open 24/7 beginning next semester.

Assembly members also passed a resolution that opposes the grading policy changes recently called for by the Faculty Senate.

The senate's plan, which would keep every grade earned for a class as a part of a student's GPA instead of only the highest earned "defeats... the purpose of retaking the course," according to the Assembly resolution passed last week.

The Assembly resolution cannot stop the grading policy change, but aims to shield students already enrolled in degree programs from being effected.

"Current students joined UB with the understanding of the old policy, that they could take the course again," Shibly said.

Shibly added he was against the Faculty Senate's move to implement the grading policy change, saying that an "A" student is an "A" student, regardless of whether that person was given a second chance after a grade of "F."

"It doesn't really show your true capability. It's not fair to the students," Shibly said. "The whole system of grading the student is to show their true ability."

The Assembly chair also emphasized the original system of retaking courses for a new grade as a sort of protection against professor bias.

"Sometimes there may be an issue with the professor, if you disagree with a professor's views," he said. "There's a way you can appeal that, but most students would just retake the course with a different professor."

Viqar Hussain, SA president-elect, said the Faculty Senate felt that students took advantage of the option, retaking courses four or more times and still not getting a good grade. The option to retake, however, should be open to students who wanted to retake the course only once.

"The Faculty Senate has been supportive of the Student Association and I have no doubt, they'll support us again," Hussain said. "If (the option to retake a class) gets taken away, the academic process is just going to be flawed."

Next year, the Assembly will pick up where this year's leaves off under the guidance of chair-elect Nick Dellaneve. Although recently the legislature has worked towards new resolutions, the freshman business major said that his goal is to increase its presence in SA and in the UB community overall.

"(The Assembly) it is merely a formality right now and the students in it aren't very involved," Dellaneve said. "I would like to increase participation and involvement, as well as the say the Assembly has in the SA."