Your Issues, Your Campus, Speak your Mind: A & T Financial Aid Fourm was held on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m in Exhibit Hall.

This gave students and the financial aid staff the opportunity to finally voice their issues and opinions towards the issues that they are faced with in the Dowdy Building.

Although this was the time for many students to voice their opinions many did not show up.  In a very cold Exhibit Hall, students filled around 50 of the 200 seat set aside for them to participate in the program.

Nonetheless, the financial aid staff expressed that it was very exicted to see the students who were there and greeted them with a friendly handshake.

The program began promptly and was moderated by Dexter Mullins, the Editor in Chief of The A & T Register, who opened the floor for students and the financial aid to voice their opinion.

Mullins guided the forum through a series of questions directed first to the students, then asked students to speak directly to administation. He rapped the program up by giving the administration a chance to respond, and gave the microphone to Student Government Association President Syene Jasmin.

“It was great to see the few students that did come out, but I would have really liked to see more students come to speak about the many challenges we all face as students with financial aid,” Mullins said. “I tried to even give some of my own personal experiences just so that students would feel more comfortable with actually speaking up and expressing the things that were going on. Overall I would say that the program was great for what it was.”

Many students who had questions seemed to exhibit the same problem: communicaiton. As Augustine Joseph, a senator for the College of Arts and Sciences pointed out, there could be many other things that people could do in financial aid to improve this situation.

“When I worked in Dean [Dr. Michael] Plater in the College of Arts and Sciences, we would first call someone if we needed to reach them, e-mail them, and then call them again to make sure that all those previous methods had been successful,” Joseph said. “I think sometimes overcommunication is the best way to communicate with people.”

The Director of Financial Aid, Mrs. Sherri Avent, along with Dr. Yvette Underdue-Murph, the Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management, and Mr. Robert Pompey, the Vice Chancellor of Business and Finance, address most all of the students questions.SGA Chief of Staff Gary Brown suggested that a customer service survey be put into place, and it was discovered that this was already in the works.

“We have actually been thinking of doing something along those lines,” Underdue-Murph said. “I along with my colleagues would all love to work with you [students] to help improve the situations in financial aid.”

Avent also spoke to the importance of turning in FAFSA forms as early as possible.

“In just one week in the financial aid office in June, we will recieve over 15,000 pieces of paper. Paper,” Avent said. “We have acquired a converter to help digitize these forms, but we still have to process each of these documents. If students would turn their forms in early or on time, they would be able to receive more of the limited funds we have available. There were some students who had no loans this year.”

Jasmin closed the program out, calling it historic.

“You go and tell all your friends that didn’t come that this program took place tonight, and they missed out.” He said. “But remember this is the first step.”

• Chelsea King