Bonaventure Students Escape Most State and Federal Budget Cuts

A new commercial shows a college student packing up his belongings and shoving them into suitcases and bags, which is a common sight for many students each May as the school year ends. Something is wrong with the student though. His lack of expression in the commercial makes it obvious. He actually is packing his room to leave college and never return again to finish his degree.

The television ad, which began airing in March, tells New York State lawmakers and Governor Andrew Cuomo the projected $80 million dollars in cuts to higher education are unacceptable.

Kate Dillon Hogan, associate vice president for enrollment, said despite all of these cuts federal and statewide, St. Bonaventure will not see cuts as severe as other state public institutions, such as SUNY schools.

“I think we will adjust to the cuts well because we remain committed to keeping the university accessible, affordable and making students and families feel an education here at St. Bonaventure will benefit them over an entire lifetime,” Hogan said.

She said despite St. Bonaventure receiving some funding from the state and federal governments each year, it is not as much as the normal public institution. Hogan said the initial state budget passed on March 27 will not have much impact on St. Bonaventure financially next year.

“The funding planned to be cut to the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) has been restored to its full amount, after a slight cut this year,” she said.
Hogan said the TAP grant is the most popular state grant St. Bonaventure students receive, and students who qualify for the TAP can receive up to $5,000 each school year.

Another common state program, the Higher Educational Opportunity Program (HEOP), was not cut from next year’s budget either.

Margaret Bryner, director of the HEOP program, said, “We are supposed to have level funding this upcoming school year. The university has supported us with 24 new students in the program for next year, which is the same amount of new students this year.”

She said the HEOP Program was cut half way through this budget year by 1.1 percent.

“The cut might sound insignificant, but it’s not. We can still manage with what we have, but we had to cut back on programming and workshops for our students,” Bryner said.

Hogan also pointed St. Bonaventure will not likely have to lay off any professors, faculty, or staff next year because Bonaventure does not receive state funding to pay for university employees, unlike many public institutions.

“Anyone who goes to a SUNY school can anticipate significant cuts to the number of professors at each school. This will lead to larger class sizes and the amount of classes each school offers will be decreased, ultimately taking the normal college student longer to graduate,” she said.
Cuts are also being made at the federal level, which affect schools nationwide.

According to an online article published by The Chronicle, President Obama approved a bill cutting $845 of the maximum amount of money any student could receive from a Pell Grant. The bill also states a student could not receive more than one Pell Grant per academic school year.

Hogan said although this is the primary way St. Bonaventure students receive aid from the federal government, most students will not be affected drastically by this cut.

She also added most students at St. Bonaventure do not take summer classes. Therefore, the part of the bill which allows for only one Pell Grant to be given to a student each year will not affect most students.

Hogan said she is also not aware of any federal cuts to the Direct Loan or Perkins Loan Program. There have also not been any cuts to the federal work study program, she said.

Despite the good news with many state and federal programs continuing next year, students at St. Bonaventure are still concerned about how they are going to pay for college.

Julie Smithson, sophomore biology major, said her aid was cut last year because of the budget and is worried it might somehow be cut again this year.

“The cut my TAP funding by almost $500 this year, and I am worried they are going to cut it even more next year. I have even written to my state representative George Maziarz to share my concerns.”

Molly Inglut, a sophomore J/MC major, agrees with Smithson. She said without additional aid each year it’s hard to make up the difference to pay for school.

“Some people really do not have the means to afford school and financial aid is all they have. I know I can barely afford to come here.”

Hogan said if any student is worried about paying for school next year, they should contact the Financial Aid Office before the end of the semester.

Even though Inglut has visited the financial aid office, she is still worried about what exactly will happen.

“I don’t understand why they would want to cut aid to any college student. We are the future leaders of this country.”

Bob Donius Stepping Down as Vice President of University Ministries

The sound of Bob Donius playing the guitar with his warm welcome to mass every Sunday will soon be nothing but a memory for the St. Bonaventure community.

Effective July 1st, Bob Donius, vice president for University Ministries, will take a six month sabbatical and return to the university as a professor.

Donius said when he returns to campus next January he also will no longer have a role in the music ministry program. He will also vacate his cabinet position under Sister Margaret Carney, O.S.F.

Julie Smithson, a junior music ministry leader, said she was shocked to hear the news about the change in University Ministries.

“I knew something was going on before I left for Spring Break, but I did not know what. There have been numerous changes in University Ministries this year, but I always figured Bob would be here,” she said.

Donius said despite the surprising news of his new role at St. Bonaventure, he said all good things come to the end, and the Bonaventure community should be resilient to change.

“Change is fundamental in the universe. All good things have to come to an end, including our own life. This is a different kind of ending for me and for something new to begin. It’s similar to the challenge every senior is facing as they head towards commencement. They are off to something new too.”

Donius said during his sabbatical he will develop a new course that will discuss sexuality, dating, relationships, marriage, and family within the Catholic Church. Donius said he will teach this course as well as several other courses within the Clare College curriculum when he returns to campus in January. However, he said the course he will develop on his sabbatical will not be a part of Clare College.

Smithson said she does not feel this new class will be well attended because it won’t be a mandatory class for students to take.

“You will get those people who are extremely spiritual who will take the class, but besides that not many students will take a religious based class unless they are told to do so. If they offered it as a cross listing with Clare College, more students might sign up because they are required to take Clare’s.”

Donius also said after July 1, his administrative role, vice president of University Ministries, will be left vacant. Fr. Franics Di Spigno from The Holy Name Providence will be appointed Director of Faith Formation, Worship, and Ministry.

Donius said he met Fr. Francis several weeks ago, and he will have many people to rely upon during this transition period.

“He will rely on the gifts of the community to help out including student leaders. That is what the church life is. It’s not all about the one person in charge, it’s about the members of the body of Christ,” Donius said.

Kayla O’Keefe, a sophomore music ministry leader, said she is nervous about the transition period between Donius and Fr. Francis.
“I am a little worried where music ministries will go from here. Bob is a fantastic musician and without him, things won’t be the same. I look forward to coming each Sunday just to see him with his passion and zest for music and liturgy.”

O’Keefe said she is also nervous because this transition might have a negative effect on mass attendance.

“Whoever takes his place has large shoes to fill. His passion these past nine years has been to bring as many students into the church as possible, religious or not. This transition might have an effect on mass, and if we were to go backwards on that, it would be devastating.”
Donius remains confident though that University Ministries will not suffer through this change.

“I have faith in him (Fr. Francis). If he needs any advice, I am only a phone call away, but I will truly miss my role in music ministry. It is life giving me and a way I pray.”

No Snow Day for Bonaventure Students Despite Massive Storm

It was 3:30 p.m. on February 1 when St. Bonaventure students, faculty and staff received a Special Notice Board stating the university could be shut down the following day because of a snow and ice storm. However, that storm did not impact the St. Bonaventure area as bad as it was forecasted, shattering the hopes of many who wanted a snow day.
February 2 turned out to be just another normal day at St. Bonaventure. Professors and students agreed that conditions did not warrant a closing that day, but they believe St. Bonaventure officials do not take into consideration those who commute to campus on a daily basis when severe winter weather occurs.
Vito Czyz, director of the Office of Safety and Security, said that morning a closing was being considered because many local school districts and colleges were closing nearby but the road conditions in the Olean area were suitable for driving.
Czyz said his midnight dispatcher contacted the Cattaraugus County Sheriffs Department that morning at 5:00 a.m. and at that point no travel bans or travel advisories were issued for Cattaraugus County.
Czyz said a travel ban means you can get ticketed for driving through a particular town or community and a travel advisory means only essential travel is recommended.
“If there were a travel ban throughout the county, we would have not recommended having anyone travel to campus that day, and we would have been ready to cancel classes. But the storm never materialized.”
Pauline Hoffmann, assistant professor in the School of J/MC, agreed that conditions were suitable for driving that day. However, she does not believe St. Bonaventure takes into account the safety of faculty and students commuting to campus during severe winter weather.
“I think they assume since most of the students live on campus they do not remember the faculty and students who indeed have to come to campus on a daily basis.”
Hoffmann said she travels from Alden, NY, which is 75 minutes away. She said sometimes in the winter it can take her over two hours to get to campus.
Czyz said it always is a difficult situation when deciding to cancel class because so many students live on campus even though a number of faculty come from the Buffalo and Rochester area.
“If we have a closure with 85% of students living on campus, that leaves them nothing to do. We would still have to make sure certain services are open for our students such as the library and Richter Center. It would be a long day for students if we just shut down the university completely.”
Even though classes were officially not cancelled that day, some professors, like Hoffmann, still decided to cancel class and put their assignments online. Hoffmann said she cancelled classes the day before and put assignments up on Moodle because she was concerned the snow storm might have left her stranded in Alden.
According to moodle.org, Moodle is a free web based applications that allows educators to create online learning sites and collect assignments.
“I think faculty and administrations think we have to have so many hours and so many days in the classroom. I do think it’s easier with online technology such as Moodle to put classes online in cases like this one.”
Students who commute to campus also agree with Hoffmann. Hilary Cleary, a sophomore Chemistry major, who commutes from Cuba, NY, said trying to get to campus in hazardous weather creates a lot of stress on students and faculty.
“They don’t take into account those who have to drive in these awful conditions. Not everyone really lives at Bonaventure. I do think it would be a good alternative for them to put assignments on Moodle if class had to be cancelled. Most of my professors use Moodle anyways.
Even though the university stayed open that day and classes were held, Czyz said this situation was a great test for the campus community.
The university utilized this situation to update all of their calling codes that alert news and radio stations to a closing. He also said many people on campus also updated their records with the E2 Campus text alert system that notifies students during emergencies via text messages.
“We have lived through a lot worse than that morning. There are days when you can’t see anything in front of your face and schools are open. I think a lot of schools and business overreacted that day,” he said.