Virgil Miller and Keneshia Grant have big plans for FAMU. With many projects on the horizon and some already in motion, the Miller-Grant Administration is ready to take the University to the next level.
While many students were home for the summer, the new SGA President and Vice President were hard at work addressing students’ needs.
“Over the summer I worked hard to put the Bright Futures Scholarship high on the list of the Florida Student Association,” said Miller, a 23-year-old public health biology graduate student from West Palm Beach. “The FSA has its own lobbyist that goes directly to the state legislature.
The enormous tuition costs for out-of-state students were also addressed to the FSA.
“Out-of-state students pay almost four times as much as in-state students,” Miller said.
The administration has also been working on-campus to try to address some other pertinent issues. Responding to several complaints about the lack of communication between students and the Student Government Association, Miller and Grant had a message board placed on Wahnish Way.
The administration has also contacted President Fred Gainous about holding monthly town hall meetings to address students’ concerns. Miller and Grant said they also went directly to students and asked them what their concerns were.
“We walked through Foote-Hilyer and addressed students’ concerns about long lines and other issues,” said Grant, a 20-year-old senior political science student from Fort Lauderdale.
Safety is also one of the Miller-Grant Administration’s major issues.
They took a tour of the school to find places that could be better lit and have ordered signs that will allow students to be able to better identify the university police station.
They have also contacted Interim Housing Director Oscar Crumity about instituting a new security system for the dorms, which will replace Sonitrol and hopefully better protect students from intruders and reduce thefts.
Also, within the next few weeks, lighting will be brought to the intramural field and a new SGA Web site will be launched.
The administration’s first staff meeting was held recently and Miller said he is excited about the news that came out of it.
“The staff has proposed many dynamic speakers to come to this campus,” Miller said. “We dare to do some things that have not been done before.”
Miller and Grant said they plan to get students to better appreciate the Black Archives by hosting more events there. They also discussed the possibility of getting cable television and high-speed Internet into the dorms.
“We have been in contact with a company that can do it and get it done for a reasonable price,” Miller said.
The administration has many events planned for the next month. Groundbreaking on a new recreation center is set for the middle of September. On Sept. 13, there will be a student achievement reception at the President’s house on campus.
contact at kyle hopewell kihopewell@comcast.com.