The Associated Student Body discussed the future of student housing, enrollment, mental health awareness and the accessibility of drug abuse resources as UM Chancellor Glenn Boyce and University Counseling Center Director Juawice McCormick made an appearance at the ASB formal senate meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
Preceding the standard formal senate meeting, Boyce and McCormick shared the stage to discuss future plans for addressing new and lingering issues that students face on campus. In preparation of their appearance, ASB senators submitted questions in advance.
“With the ever-worsening housing situation in Oxford and consecutive record-breaking freshman classes, at what point will the university feel the need to cap or reduce admittance?” junior and accountancy major Garrett Holland asked.
Senior Hayden Pierce, an international studies major, asked a related question regarding housing.
“What is the university doing to ensure that students have enough affordable housing both on and off campus,” Pierce asked.
Boyce stated that the university encourages student enrollment due to the school’s large financial dependency on student tuition. According to Boyce, student tuition makes up 77-78% of the money used to run the university, so high enrollment is considered in a positive light.
Unfortunately, higher enrollment also leads to limited housing options, a phenomenon that Boyce acknowledged.
“We’re behind in housing. We didn’t keep up our housing inventory, and that’s just part of something that I wish we had done, but we didn’t do,” he said. “We’re about to build 925 more beds and put them where Kincannon was, but that’s not going to be enough. Because candidly, I can take care of all my freshmen when they climb (up to) more than 6,000 (students). But what I can’t do a great job of is taking care of all my upperclassmen and my graduate students. That’s where it gets difficult.”
He also mentioned parents buying property as condos for their students, further limiting housing spaces.
“We’re having parents buy off Oxford, left and right, from all over the nation,” Boyce said. “They’re buying up condos when their students arrive. It’s like nothing that’s ever been seen before here in Oxford. Well, what’s that doing? That’s taking up an awful lot of opportunity for us to have affordable housing.”
In response, Boyce has searched for apartment complexes in hopes of providing more housing for students, already obtaining a master lease for one apartment complex that will provide 200 rooms next year.
The other pressing matter discussed was the mental well-being of students and how the university can create more resources to promote physical, mental and social wellness.
As director of the University Counseling Center, Juawice McCormick has dedicated her role to building and cultivating a community of care and inclusion, centered around the counseling center’s 24/7 access for students to speak to a counselor in the event of a crisis.
“What we all want and need is to be in community with each other because healthy relationships are what keeps us all sane and sober and supportive and help us be successful. And the way that we build communities is to be in good relationships with each other,” McCormick said.
Working with several committees, McCormick plans to create several initiatives and events before the end of the semester to spread mental health awareness, several of them being student-led.
“One of the big things we’re going to try to do in the spring is to stage a series of TED-like talks that are created by (the students), encouraging you to share your stories and your journeys for wellness and academic, social, personal and emotional success. Because again, who carries the better message than you to one another,” McCormick said.
Following Boyce and McCormick, the ASB continued with its regular formal senate meeting, introducing five new bills to the chamber.
The most notable bill, 23-8, suggested Greek life leaders receive Narcan administration training. The bill seeks to facilitate proper drug overdose prevention and supply leaders with proper treatments.
Sophomore Ryleigh Felty, an English education major, presented the bill, emphasizing that the severity of drug abuse requires leaders to combat it.
“Our campus, like our entire nation, has been plagued by opioid overdoses,” Felty said. “Between the years of 2019 and 2020, opioid overdoses increased by 125% in the state of Mississippi. Additionally, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, there were 106,699 drug default overdose deaths reported in the U.S. in 2021.”
Bills 23-9 and 23-10 amended the current responsibilities of the secretary, and Bill 23-11 expanded the role of the Legislative Council’s executive assistant to where they will be responsible for logging attendance and keeping track of bills. Bill 23-12 dictates that the sergeant at arms will provide direct communication with campus media. All proposed bills were passed.
