Meeting rewritten

A vote of 13-1 by the Albany Common Council, Nick D’Antonio was chosen as commissioner of the Department of General Services on Monday.

The Department of General Services, as stated on the main website of Albany Council County, “increases efficiency and cost effectiveness, streamlines operations and maximizes existing County resources by providing centralized, coordinated services to other departments of County government.”

In spite of allegations made by Elise Van Allen, an Albany resident and previous employee of Johnson and Johnson against D’Antonio regarding stealing the city of Albany’s trash money, Mayor Gerald D. Jennings’ nominee was chosen.

Van Allen would agree with the one vote against D’Antonio. “They have stolen from the city of Albany” she said. Van-Allen claims that the allegations made against D’Antonio and his crew were not fully investigated. According to her, the Times Union wrote an article called “Trash for Cash” about two years ago which accused D’Antonio and co-workers of taking the cash value of metal trash. Certain metal garbage has a high cash value which should have been returned to the city of Albany but somehow it disappeared. “It was not being remitted to the city, it was being used for pizza parties” said Van-Allen. Additionally, Van-Allen mentioned that D’Antonio had claims against him for threatening a certain employee’s family member’s jobs.

Van Allen believed that what mattered were morals and the law. “I was always brought up that you did the right thing” she said. “If you hold the law you wouldn’t nominate someone with allegations against them” said Van Allen. Stealing from the city of Albany is most definitely not the “right thing.”

Although Van-Allen strongly stood by her decision, the Common Council had to agree with Cory Johnson, supervisor of the sanitation department who said, “This man stepped in and made a remarkable transformation.” Throughout the course of the public comments which were extended for 15 minutes, many of D’Antonio’s co-workers rooted for him. Almost all said, “I hope the vote that takes place in this room is a positive one.”

Unfortunately for Van-Allen, D’Antonio is now the new commissioner and all accusations against him have been disregarded.

Final Paper

Classes are closed. Seats remaining: Zero. At the University at Albany where nearly 17,000 students attend, access to classes have become limited and almost impossible for students to obtain.

Every semester, all students are required to pre register for classes. Each student, depending on their status and year at the university, receives a different registration date. Athletes normally get first pick. Although it may seem as if athletes deserve the privilege due to their busy schedules, some students disagree. Julie Kim, a freshman at the University, said, “It is unfair that athletes get first pick; it should go according to students’ G.P.A because it is academics.”
There have been instances in which athletes not only reserve seats for themselves, but for their non-athlete friends as well. Jessica Savitt, a freshman, said, “Sean held a class for me because he signed up for classes on the first day of registration; the second he drops it, I add it.” Such occurrences are problematic to other students at the University who are trying to sign up for classes they need.

Aside from the athletes’ privileges, first semester freshman have availabilities to almost all classes as well. Faith Sampson, another freshman said, “Fall of freshman year was the easiest because everything is open to you.” This vast amount of availability for freshman leaves fewer seats for students who are further in their college career.

It is safe to say that the University does worry about students’ education; but do they worry more about freshman? Incoming freshman are scared and worried they won’t have the experience they want. The school guarantees them a great education; by doing so, they must have extra seats open for freshman only. With an incoming class of 2,500 students, where does the school draw the line? William R. Rainbolt, Director of the Department of Journalism at the University explained that it is as if the school has everything available to freshman but then once they are sophomores, it goes downhill. He said, “It is not fair, it’s a disservice to students” when talking about classes being unavailable to many.

For 2008’s fall registration, the University’s website shows seats remaining for classes. The list almost always goes as such: “Seats for Freshman- 25, Seats for Sophomore- 0, Seats for all others- 3.” The availability for freshman is so immense that in The Oceans, taught by Michael G. Landin, there are 290 seats remaining for freshman and zero seats remaining for sophomore. Brett Benjamin, Director of the Undergraduate Department of English who has been working at the University for 9 years said, “We do our best to try and protect seats for sophomores.” However, many are left with fewer classes than required to be considered a full time student. Students must resort to attending the classes they want to take even if they are not enlisted in them. Adam Bakhash, a junior, said, “I have had to sit in for a while and beg.”

Every department gives out permission numbers which are given to students who show they really want to take the class. When asked about the amount of permission numbers given, Debbie A. Bourassa, Secretary for the Communications Department who has been working at the University for 20 years, said, “hundreds.” Rainbolt said he has “325 permission numbers” for the fall. Even when students sit in on classes they are not enlisted in to receive permission numbers, one is never guaranteed. Should students have to resort to such measures? Every university should make it possible for their students to gain the best education possible. Tiffany Degraff a freshman, said, “Yes, I have tried to sign up for classes and they have been closed.”
Alexandra Stevens, a junior, explained that she has an internship lined up for the fall and may need to switch around class times. However, she is unable to do so due to the lack of seat availability, which may risk her opportunity as an intern.

Sean Bailey, a junior said, “Just about every semester, I get locked out of a class that I need.” But how far does this “locking out” really go? He said, “It’s caught up with me because now I have to take summer classes and maybe even an extra semester. Because of the minimal seating availabilities for students, Bailey along with many others students are required to continue their education at the University for longer than originally planned.

Students should be given options so that they can graduate within four years. This is not the case in the Communications Department. Out of approximately 17,000 students, 606 are declared communication majors and 371 are intended majors. There is only one 265x class offered for the fall. Jen Meth, a freshman, said, “Find more professors who can teach a class.” But according to Bourassa “We will probably never offer more than one section for 265x.” With the great amount of communication majors, the lack of faculty affects everyone. Gwendolyn Moore, Department Chair for Women’s Studies who has been working at the University for 20 years said, “We’d like to have more faculty; ideally, students should be able to choose what they need and want.”

Students need and want greater access to classes. Rainbolt said, “It’s a tight budget.” Instead of the University paying teachers more to teach extra classes, money is being spent on expanding the campus center and renovating the dormitories. These are important needs for students but the school’s first priority should be the academics.

The University’s Website, Albany.edu states, “Students are encouraged to challenge themselves, to explore the world about them, and then to accept the responsibility that comes with scholarship and freedom.” With so many classes closed, challenging oneself is nearly impossible. Students and parents want to know their money is being well spent and they are getting all the school has to offer; in this case, the school has a lack of seats to offer. Rainbolt said, “It is a problem and I think it’s one the University needs to address.”