Students Express Concern During "Pies and Floats With The President"

Texas Tech students had the opportunity to voice their comments and concerns to interim President Lawrence Schovanec on May 3 at the “Pies and Floats with the President” in the Student Union building.

Schovanec said he believes that students have the right to raise issues and concerns and to know that administration is accessible. He said this type of event gives the opportunity for students to break the ice.

“I was standing here and five students came up and they advocated for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute program,” Schovanec said. “If you stay in the office, you will never have that experience.”

Daniel Yates, vice president of graduate affairs from Katy, Texas, said along with free pies and floats there was a comment box for students, and a donation box for the victims in West, Texas.

Yates said the event was fairly easy to put together, and he hopes to have similar events held every semester.

“We’re really interested in hearing from students and getting students involved all over the campus,” Yates said, “whether it be in organizations, student government, just whatever, we really are interested in talking to students.”

Kyle Clark, vice president of administration and finance and chief financial officer, said the event provided an opportunity for the administration and the Student Government Association to actively work together and find out what are the rising issues on campus.

Clark said a variety of issues, such as questions about billing, improving advising, and offering more services in different departments, have been brought to the administration’s attention.

“I would hope that students and faculty and staff will take advantage of these opportunities, so that they can come out and talk to us,” Clark said, “and share their ideas or share what issues might be problematic to them, because we do take the feedback very seriously.”

Clark also said a pie bar, with three different types of fillings and crusts, a root beer float stand, a coke float stand, and a sundae station were offered at the event.

“I can’t take credit for any of these ideas,” Clark said, with a smile. “This was a partnership between the coordinator in the president’s office and the Student Organization Association on what they thought that the students would love the most.”

Schovanec said he thinks it’s important to do things for students, so that students are aware that they are the priority of Texas Tech.

“You know what I will miss in the president’s office, is things like this,” Schovanec said. “An opportunity to see a cross-section of the student population, and interacting with the alumni, interacting with the faculty across the university, so those are really blessings of that position, so I’ll miss that.”

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