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Professional council struggles to make itself known on campus

mason.388@osu.edu

Published: Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Updated: Thursday, March 11, 2010 02:03

The Inter-Professional Council represents more than 3,200 "professional" students at Ohio State and spends tens of thousands of dollars. But it has difficulties filling its leadership positions and keeping students aware of what the organization does.

"One of the problems is that people don't have the time," said Meghan Slanina, current vice president and incoming president of IPC.

The council held presidential and vice presidential elections this week. Each officer gets paid about $10,000 a year and gets a partial tuition waiver. Nonetheless, no one challenged Slanina for president and only two men ran for vice president.

Unlike Undergraduate Student Government, which represents about 45,000 students on the Columbus campus, IPC has few programs and an apathetic constituency. The council represents the students in the schools of law, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, optometry, dentistry and medicine. Each of those schools has its own student government that is focused narrowly on the interests of those students.

Making the professional students aware of the council and its work has "been a major problem," Slanina said. "A lot of students didn't go here for undergrad. They don't realize the university is receptive" to the issues that affect them.

For example, the council was crucial in the movement to extend Wilce Student Health Center hours to accommodate professional students. IPC also attends the Athletic Council meetings and has been instrumental in the discussion about student football tickets.

"Our students have much different interests" than undergraduate students, said Slanina, a veterinary medicine student.

IPC members often find their career and school interests getting in the way of their commitment to the organization.

"A lot of people choose to participate [in organizations] within their own college," Slanina said.

The council has 30 senators and "right now the senate spots are not very competitive," she added.

The IPC will have more money to work with this year because OSU has hiked the student activity fee from $15 per quarter to $25. The increase will generate $4,000 more this year for the council. The IPC's operating budget will be roughly $26,000 for this school year.

The council uses a significant portion of that money to garner interest in the organization. Last year they spent $1,233 on promotional materials such as T-shirts and coffee mugs. This year, they have begun to use the activity fee for "outreach lunches" at different professional colleges. This year, IPC has budgeted $8,500 for outreach and promotion and has already spent $4,400 of it.

"Some students didn't realize the umbrella of IPC," said Dan Klauer, a dentistry major and IPC president. "It is something that surpasses the college level. That's kind of something we're hoping ... our senators will realize."

IPC also used activity fee money last year to pay for food at monthly IPC meetings to get more people to attend. This year the council is paying for the food with fundraising money.

Since they have started serving food at meetings, "attendance has jumped 200 percent. We go as cheap as we can," Klauer said.

IPC has also implemented an attendance policy that is stricter and can result in the removal of senators who cannot make the time commitment, Klauer said.

The attendance policy so far does not apply to the council's retreats, which are paid for with activity fee money. In September, IPC paid almost $1,300 to send 10 members to a Reynoldsburg cabin overnight for team building.

"All the student governments have retreats," Slanina said. "The more people know each other, the better they work together. More senator participation is great for a dynamic organization."

But few IPC members attend these retreats. As few as five people have gone on these retreats in the past.

"Professional programs start at different times," Klauer said. "It's a challenge figuring out when to schedule."

Nonetheless, IPC holds a significant role in supporting student research and study. The council is responsible for the $45,000 Professional Development Fund, which pays for research and education opportunities outside of students' regular programs,
Klauer said.

The fund reimburses 20 to 25 percent of applicants who apply for research or travel reimbursement.

Also, Slanina said IPC has had "a better handle" on recording and keeping track of the money and has been providing annual reports.

She said group members hope the fund will increase in the future.  

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13 comments

Anonymous
Wed Mar 17 2010 00:49
First, are you guys planning on running a correction in the newspaper to make up for all the mistakes? Secondly, Everdeen, seriously? How can you consider yourself a serious journalist when your stories are so riddled with error? Like, every story you write is full of comments about how horrible it is (thank God you laid off the opinion pieces for awhile.) I used to write for The Lantern, and it is embarrassing that people such as yourself devalue with your shoddy reporting and writing, to the point it becomes a joke. A lot of the students in my building have came to me and asked me how someone so incompetent could be the editor-and-chief.

It is pretty sad when your own sources come out and say that you twisted their words around. The sad thing is, since I used to write for The Lantern, I know you, and you think you are really great. You don't even realize the extent to which you are a terrible writer. Please just stop writing and stop embarrassing the rest of us journalism students, because your work sadly, does reflect back on us. A lot of Lantern reporters are writing for the first time, so obviously they might might mistakes, but you've been at The Lantern for awhile no, so what is your excuse?

Teddy Roosevelt
Thu Mar 11 2010 22:24
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
Joseph Clark, III
Thu Mar 11 2010 17:00
This article was such a missed opportunity. Instead of highlighting IPC's zealous advocacy in maintaining professional student housing, Haiti Relief efforts, collaboration with other student governments and professional student input in significant university endeavors (project one, ohio union, etc), the Lantern chose to make a "mountain out of a molehill". It is very easy to be a critic, but it is harder to be an agent of change. The professional student population dedicate a significant amount of hours outside of their busy schedules of classes, clinicals, and practica to advocate for all students. We use our expertise and education to help students, staff, faculty and the local community with everything from helping first-year students with lease agreements to dental health education. Yet, this article downgrades our significant educational investment by referring to us as "professional" students. You simply could have done better. But, I do promise you one thing. This article will serve as motivation for us. We will continue to represent our constituents and the university community with vigor. Thank you, Lantern. You have inspired me.
Anonymous
Thu Mar 11 2010 13:05
IPC's operating budget is roughly one half of my educational expenses for one year of attendance in my OSU professional program. There are 3,200 professional students with similar financial burdens. I'm glad that IPC exists to represent a group of students that pay the highest tuition expense on campus, pursue the most rigorous academic curriculums, and will likely make some of the largest financial contributions to OSU as alumni. Suddenly the $26,000 seems small... Thank you IPC!
Meghan Slanina
Thu Mar 11 2010 12:28
Overall, I am disheartened that The Lantern editor finds the need to paint every organization on campus in a negative light. Our members, just like most members of student organizations, work effortlessly and without compensation to make sure that students have a valuable experience at Ohio State. Even though our schedules require us to be in class 8+ hours a day, or in clinics for 12 hours a day, we still have a dedicated membership. This was conveyed to Everdeen at our meeting, but obviously not mentioned anywhere in the article. This is not surprising, being that basic facts weren't even presented correctly. For example, Dan Klauer is the President of IPC, not the Vice President. Our retreat was at Hocking Hills, not in Reynoldsburg. We do not fund 20 to 25% of students for the Professional Development Fund, we are funding 25% of the requests we receive. We had three very qualified candidates run for Vice President, and we have had more interest this year than the past 4 years at least in our appointed Chair positions.

It would be wonderful if The Lantern would attempt to write unbiased and factually correct articles. The editors of The Lantern are paid for their work; therefore, they should be held accountable for their articles.

Anonymous
Thu Mar 11 2010 12:18
What is this article about again? I am confused? It seemed like the journalist was trying to raise awareness of a organization trying to do much with little dollars and very busy students - but at the same time - there was a vibe that writer was attacking the group. Why such scrutiny of where these dollars go? There are bigger pots of money to look at in the OSU Community - i.e. housing fees, rec sports fees, TUITION, professional student tuition? Why not do a story on professional student tuition and how much it has increased. The ole cliche' -- trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill - this is a great example!
Anonymous
Thu Mar 11 2010 11:51
I absolutely agree with the previous comments made by members of IPC. I think the overall message behind this is the difficulty in taking an article meant to be sensational and really make a mark for a particular journalist seriously when the author couldn't even get the officers' positions right and didn't understand that "professional" is an actual category of school.
Anonymous
Thu Mar 11 2010 10:49
I'm not quite sure why the article starts off with quotes around the word professional. They are considered Professional students -- consider this the office that works with the professional colleges to admit these students is not called the Graduate and "Professional" admissions office. I agree with Jillian when she says "The dismissive tone and misrepresentation of this article does serious disservice not only to those hard-working individuals who have served in the past, who are serving now, and who will serve IPC in the future but also to the professional student body in general. "

Think about it Lantern

Megan Conroy
Thu Mar 11 2010 10:21
I would like to voice the valuable services and advocacy that IPC does provide to the thousands of professional students it represents. As a group that makes up only a small percentage of the overall Buckeye family and who are students among the most rigorous academic programs of it is a challenge to be represented in the nation's largest University. Similar to the other two existing student governments, a major aspect of IPC's purpose is to represent the student voice among University committees to ensure that professional student interests are well preserved throughout decision making. I believe the University mantra of "students first" further emphasizes this importance, and is a task that should not be overlooked when assessing the effectiveness of a student-government.

Furthermore, because of the unique educational programs of the professional schools, students are afforded with little time to dedicate outside of their intellectual and professional development while also engaging in their professional community, developing the myriad skills demanded by challenging disciplines and keeping a few moments for wellness. As a result, the needs of this student population are drastically different from the needs met by the Undergraduate Student Government. The types of programs and resources provided by IPC strive to fill the voids left by the six colleges which it represents-- an ever evolving task that is done with the utmost integrity and loyalty to the mission of this University.

Meghan Slanina
Thu Mar 11 2010 09:35
To Doug Hall:

I can see how you might get that impression from this article. Unfortunately, the article failed to coney most of what IPC is in charge of. To clarify, the senator positions aren't difficult to fill as of now. When I talked to Everdeen about how we had to prioritize university wide committee placements in order to make sure that we serve on those committees, she asked if we could just increase the numbers of senators serving in the organization. I told her that right now we probably had 3 spots in the schools and 4 people running, so increasing our numbers would probably leave us with vacancies. Utilizing 10 people to serve on all of our committees, plan our events, and allocate the Professional Development Fund would be impossible with our schedules, and would place an undue burden on those individuals.

Is far as resume padding goes. Nearly all of us are going to be doctors. Student organizations are not really considered when hiring a doctor. Rather, an employer looks at clinical skills, grades, and letters of recommendation. This goes to my quote from earlier in the article that states that people choose to join organizations within their college in order to garner more applicable experience. The people that serve on IPC serve to genuinely promote the professional student experience while at OSU, not as a resume booster.

Personally, I appreciate my HOA. They deal with a number of issues such as snow removal, landscaping, outside maintenance, etc. that lets me focus on the things that I enjoy.

Doug Hall
Thu Mar 11 2010 08:51
This article doesn't give me a reason to believe that the IPC needs to exist, like a home owners association in a development. The article gives me the impression that there are too many "senators" if the 30 seats are hard to fill. Perhaps there only need to be 10. If the group offered a valuable service, students would use it. Since students aren't taking advantage of its services than it should consider either offering services that would benefit students or disbanding to save money.

As an engineer that recruits students, I am always wary of entries for such organizations on student resumes. If they can't demonstrate to me that a group they listed helped them to grow as a person in some way, I assume that the only reason it's on the list is to pad an otherwise unexceptional background. The people who include such entries on their resumes are more interested in style rather than substance and have great future climbing the corporate ladder through politics rather than competence.

Ph.D. Student
Thu Mar 11 2010 00:13
I found the tone of this article to be appalling. It was condescending and dismissive of people who work their tails off despite the fact that professional school, like graduate school, is much more rigorous than undergraduate studies. No offense, undergrads.

Twelve hundred dollars is an extremely small budget for promotional materials and you seem to have combined that together with outreach events, which are programming, really. Also, the way you separated it out makes it hard to realize that for the professional development fund to have a $45000 budget against a $26000 operating budget, meaning that nearly 2/3 of the money IPC has goes back into the pockets of professional students.

You also denigrate IPC while holding up USG because of their programming. This is simply not fair. USG's budget is mammoth compared to IPC's budget, and let's be honest, while much of that money is spent on programming, the programs are actually organized and executed by other student groups. If IPC had a massive budget, I'm sure they would do more programming.

Jillian Zientek
Wed Mar 10 2010 22:12
This article sadly makes no mention of the improvements that IPC has made under the guidance of our current leadership nor the improvements that it continues to strive for. As an engaged and enthusiastic IPC senator, I can assure you that there are a number of students who are actively invested in ensuring that IPC operates as a reliable and responsible resource for its constituent students. These professional students will continue to devote countless hours -- despite their rigorous schedules -- to ensuring that professional students have the same positive experience and develop the same pride in this great university that undergraduates do, and that the professional student voice is heard. The dismissive tone and misrepresentation of this article does serious disservice not only to those hard-working individuals who have served in the past, who are serving now, and who will serve IPC in the future but also to the professional student body in general.






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