On Thursday, October 1, the Chatham Student Government held their weekly meeting, during which they discussed the changes that could make the University a better community.

Donald Aubrecht, Chief of Chatham’s Public Safety of four years, spoke first at the CSG meeting. He first discussed the Saturday Shuttle that goes to the Eden Hall campus. According to the staff, students are not taking advantage of using the Eden Hall shuttle, and therefore they believe that funding could go towards something else on campus.

Dean of Students Zauyah Waite argued that, “if students don’t know about this transportation, then they can’t utilize it.” Administration has agreed to find ways to broadcast the Eden Hall shuttle through Moodle or my.Chatham so that all students are aware of it and can see its schedule.

Next, Chief Aubrecht talked about students getting to know the officers. By doing so, officers are encouraged to support students.

“All of the officers try to attend the sporting events [and] Easter egg hunts, so that the students can get to know the officers,” he said. “This will help students to build personal relationships with these officers and to feel comfortable with them,” he added.

The campus police department is trying to be beneficial to students and make sure that they are safe. CSG Executive President Sarah Jugovic raised the question about how public safety can help students when they are off of Chatham’s campus. Chief Aubrecht stressed that no matter where the students are, help will always be available through the University’s campus police and other police departments around the city.

“The campus police are not there to antagonize students,” said Aubrecht, “but to help them.”

The last but also drastic change that was discussed in the CSG meeting was the enrollment at Chatham. Amy Becher, Vice President for Enrollment Management, spoke about how the enrollment is increasing at a significant rate. According to the data, the Class of 2019 is the biggest enrolling class in the University’s history. This year, there are 295 first-year undergraduates whereas last year there were only 154 first-year undergraduates. Since the University has transitioned to co-education, more women as well as men have applied to Chatham.

Becher cleared the air about Chatham being a Division III school. She emphasized that this means that no extra money is given to students who play sports, and no athletes benefit more than non-athletes.

However, enrollment, as well as the student athlete population, is expected to grow largely within five years. Phoebe Armstrong, a representative for the Class of 2016, raised the question, “What is the carrying capacity here at Chatham?” The campus is known for its small community and classroom sizes. Some of the CSG members expressed their concerns that because of the University’s growing numbers, housing would become an issue and class sizes would grow.  Their concern was largely due to the fact that small class sizes and personal attention from professors is a part of what attracts many current and prospective students to Chatham.

The CSG members were assured that there would be no expansions of the University to accommodate more people.

The CSG meets every Thursday at 11:30 a.m. in the Conover Room, and all meetings are open to the student body.