UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND DENTISTRY OF NEW JERSEY
SCHOOL OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE
STUDENT COUNCIL
One Medical Center Drive  Suite 210  Stratford, NJ 08084
Tel: (856) 566-6981  Fax: (856) 566-6714  email: stuco@umdnj.edu
Student Council Minutes
Meeting Date: March 19th 2009
Location: Top Doc’s Cafe
Next Meeting: 6:00 p.m, Monday, April 20th 2009
Location: Top Doc’s Cafe
I. Call to Order and Attendees:
(A) The meeting was called to order at 7: 01 pm
(B) Attendees:
Council
STUCO Board: Matt LaPorta, Betty Chung, Kim Young, Kirin Syed, Erin
Toller, Garrett Tomasino, Soumya Bollampally
Class of 2009: Julianne Wysocki
Class of 2010: Olamide Oladipo, Melissa Suarez, Rob Donlan,
Class of 2011: Oliver Chang, Elizabeth Jasolosky, Tom Nappe , Kristen
Spencer, Daria Szkwarko, Beth Chisholm, Lauren Moleta
Class of 2012: Michael Z. Caposole, Ingrid Edshteyn, Farhad Modarai, Sarah
Campeas.
Guests
Sandra Rollins
(C) Excused: Jennifer Stellke, Ken Minnett, Michael McCollum , Hope Voto,
Kristen Fleming, Danielle Mercurio, Bethany Cottingham , Nidhi Shah,
Aileen Chen, Matthew J. Ingrassia
(D) Unexcused: EJ Gettings
II. Approval of Minutes
(A) The minutes from the February meeting were unanimously approved.
III. Special Business
(A) Open forum with Sandra Rollins.
1) Ms. Rollins started by talking about the Financial Literacy and Life
Skills program that was designed and implemented by the department
of financial aid. She stated that it is a web based program that was
started last year for professional year students. Ms Rollins and Kim
Brown from Chicago worked together to develop life scope products
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for osteopathic and allopathic schools. The program was produced by
USA funds. They are now focusing on the delivery of the finished
product. The program is designed to educate students on a variety of
topics. UMDNJ-SOM is the first UMDNJ school to implement the
program.
The financial aid department has sponsored the ‘Budget 101’ class for
first year students in an attempt to help students budget their refund
money. The department has now launched a continuation of that class
titled ‘Budget 101 and a half’. This new class is geared towards
continuing students and focuses on what to do with the money you
have and how to ask for more loans.
Ms Rollins then continued on to say that in the recent months she has
reached out to Matt LaPorta, Betty Chung and Oliver Chang and in an
effort to get more ideas of what students would like to hear and learn
about. Oliver Chang suggested a cooking class as many students spend
considerable money dining out. The financial aid department took that
into consideration and offered a cooking class headed by Mrs Krueger.
The event was a success and the financial aid department plans to offer
it again in the fall of 2009.
Next Ms. Rollins talked about the workshop titled ‘Understanding and
Managing Credit Before It Manages You’. It is typically held once in
the fall and once in the spring and focuses on various student loans
such as Gradplus, NJ Class and private loans. The next workshop is
scheduled for April 2009 and Ms Rollins requested that students give
her a list of dates that will be convenient for them.
Other upcoming events for the spring semester include a speaker for
exit interviews.
Ms Rollins then opened up the floor for questions and asked students
for input on what topics and/or workshops they would like to see on
campus. Some ideas that were mentioned were a tailoring and knitting
class as well as a defensive driving class that if completed would allow
students to receive a 10% discount on their car insurance and possibly
remove 2 points from their record.
Ms. Rollins encourages all students to email her with any ideas and
suggestions of what they would like to see, hear or learn about. She
then opened up the floor for questions.
i.
Question- How will the budget and the current credit
crunch effect students?
Answer- Things are all set and worked out for the
upcoming academic year of 2009-2010. This includes the
Grad plus loans, credit based loans, federal loans, Stafford
subsidized and unsubsidized. Please submit your financial
aid applications on time. We don’t start packaging
continuing students unless we have the basic information
and application. The Gradplus loan terms and conditions
are dependent on the market and it’s intact but as of yet, we
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don’t have any information on it for next year. The private
loans are shaky. If you get a denial, please appeal it your
lender. If the lender is Salliemae please come to the
financial aid office. Don’t leave a message but come talk to
me or Josue Velez. We can’t guarantee that we can resolve
the issue because it is based on your individual credit, but
we will try our best to help you out as much as we can.
Question - How will the tuition increase effect the budget
we are given.
Answer- SOM seniors get packaged first but the budget
packaging is based on current tuition and will be adjusted
as needed. The tuition rate is based on the new fiscal year
which doesn’t start till July 1st. The Perkins loan is intact
but there has been no new infusion of money in the last
three years. Finally, remaining eligibility is based on the
following formula: Packaged budget - the cost of
attendance = remaining eligibility.
Question: When will our checks come in?
Answer - Submit your application by the requested due
date. For seniors the deadline is April 1st and for all other
students it is May 1st. We can guarantee packages if the
application is received by the deadline. The Stafford
subsidized and unsubsidized applications are sent out
electronically and the response is generally quick, that is to
say that we can expect to receive the funds ten days before
the official start of the new academic year. This means that
the money is released ten days prior to the start of the
academic year. However, the Perkins loan cannot be
disbursed until July 1st. Another thing to keep in mind is
that the second disbursement is generally easier because
there are fewer fees.
Question- Is it possible to split up the fees between the fall
and spring semester reimbursements?
Answer- The first obstacle is that the University has to pay
all health care costs at once at the beginning. However,
these decisions are senior level issues and not handled by
the financial aid department. The best vehicle to counter
such an issue is through the Student Affairs committee. If
you run out of money, come in and fill out an emergency
loan which is interest free. The funds for the emergency
loan are taken out from your next disbursement so that you
are not taking out any additional loans, but taking out an
“advance” from your next disbursement. Such a loan will
be able to hold you off till your second disbursement comes
through. If you have any problems with that, please contact
me directly.
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Question- What are our options for consolidating loans
Answer- Depending on if you had loans prior to coming in,
you may not have to consolidate because they are at a fixed
rate. Also not many companies are consolidating right now
due to the current economic situation.
8) In closing, Ms Rollins informed the council and the students of
upcoming events that are sponsored by the financial aid department.
These include:
i. June 23rdPre-matric program- Budgeting 101
ii. July 31st
1st year program- Budgeting 101
iii. August 12th
Lunch and Learn
iv. October 14th
Evening workshop - program TBA
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v. November 11
Evening workshop - program TBA
vi. December 9th
Budgeting 101 ½ - The Second
Disbursement
IV. Executive Committee Reports:
(A) President:
1) The year is rapidly coming to an end. I would like to thank everyone
who came out for STUCO’s Career Workshop Series: National Board
of Osteopathic Medical Examiner’s COMLEX even on February 18th
with NBOME president Dr. Frederick Meoli.
2) I would like to thank everyone who came out to the UMDNJ-SOM
Medicine Ball on Saturday February 21st. Special thanks to Kimberly
Young, STUCO 2nd VP for planning such a wonderful event.
3) I would like to thanks everyone who made it out to the annual Grant
Recipient Reception on February 24th. It was a wonderful evening.
Special thanks to Betty Chung STUCO 1st VP for planning this
wonderful event, which is now quickly becoming an SOM tradition.
4) The UMDNJ Council of Student Leaders continues to meet with Dr.
Rodgers and is finalizing a UMDNJ Student Senate. Our next meeting
will be held on March 31st.
5) Please let me know if you have any comments, questions, suggestions
of concerns.
(B) First Vice President:
1) Grant Recipient Reception took place on February 24, 2009 with
reception at 6 pm catered by the Olive Garden and presentations
starting at 6:30 pm in the Top Docs Café. 21 students from 14 student
organizations, who received STUCO funding, Alumni Association
community service grants, or national board officer funding presented
brief powerpoints on their experiences at their respective funding
travel event (e.g. conference). VIPs in attendance were Dean Cavalieri,
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Dean of Student Affairs Dr. Kathryn Lambert, NJAOPS past president
Dr. Elliot Ames, NJOEF president Dr. Lee Ann Van Houter-Sauter,
Alumni Association president Dr. Cary Mantell, and Dean Micciche
from the Office of Student Affairs / Alumni Association, who were
greatly impressed by the great work that our students and student
organizations are doing.
The 2009 Student DO of the Year selection process run by 1st VP
concluded and our SDOY was announced to SOM as Randel “Randy”
Swanson II (DO/PhD-3) who will be receiving a $250 award at AROC
Student Day on April 2nd. We would like to thank all the members of
our 2009 SDOY selection committee: Dr. Russell Griesback, Dr.
Kingsley Yin, Matthew LaPorta, Michael McCollum, Olamide
Oladipo, Oliver Chang, Michael Caposole, Tim (Coffin) Li, and Dean
Cavalieri.
We had our monthly club presidents meeting on March 3, 2009.
Newly elected club presidents or students interested in running for
positions on next year’s e-boards were also invited. Sign-ups for tables
at Accepted Students Day on March 27th were taken at this time and
deadlines reiterated for completion of e-board elections, year-end
reports, and SOMAFF funding proposals (March 15th). It was highly
encouraged to complete funding requests by STUCO March meeting
as April meeting is the turnover meeting and induction ceremony for
incoming STUCO e-board. Date of Open House as April 24th was
announced.
Interclub courtesy and overbooking of events (especially elections)
were discussed. Club presidents were requested to not overlap their
elections but to work together and stagger them if on the same day, to
allow students to run for positions in multiple clubs. It was also again
requested that club presidents email all details of an event (date, time,
location, description) to the 1st VP no later than 2 weeks prior, 1
month earlier preferably, to the event so that the 1st VP can post on the
STUCO google calendar as well as intercede if a potential conflict
arises before the event conflict(s) occur. Complaints about mass club
emails to class listservs were also discussed.
Request was made to email 1st VP any event info for clubs doing
events for National Osteopathic Medicine Week (March 1-7) or Cover
the Uninsured Week (March 22-28) for the Marketing Department to
write a press release.
Club presidents were asked to email the newly created 2009-2010
E-board contact directory template and year end reports to the 1st VP,
Karen Miklosey, and new president-elect by March 31st.
This year, we have a bone marrow drive committee of APAMSA,
JOMA, NBLHO, SNMA, SOHOA, UAAO and any other clubs
interested in joining the effort were referred to this committee. AAPI
and radiology club may also be helping with the bone marrow drive.
The organization chosen to help with the bone marrow donation lunch
talk on March 26th and the actual drive on April 1st this year is the
Cammy Lee Leukemia Foundation who also helped with last year’s
drive. Contact JJ Hernandez at hernanj3@umdnj.edu if interested in
volunteering with the bone marrow drive.
(C) Second Vice President:
1) Thank you to the first year and second year classes for demonstrating
support for their fellow medical students at Reseach Day, as well as
strong attendance at the Keynote Lecture from John Licciardone, DO.
On behalf of STUCO, congratulations to Research Day award winners
from the Summer Medical Research Fellowship Program: Micheal
Desiderio, Rory Snepar, and Eric Griffin; from visiting High School
students: Sheila Bagchi and Meera Patel; and from the Graduate
School: Vadim Molodtsov, Chunyan Jin, and Andrey Parshin.
(D) Treasurer:
1) A decision has finally been made for the amount to be reimbursed for
those who drove to D.O. Day on the Hill. Each driver will be
reimbursed $60. Students can now begin turning in Travel Expense
forms to Karen. Please send me an email if you have any questions
(Erin Toller tollerec@umdnj.edu)
(E) Secretary:
1) A step-by-step guide on how to request funds from the student council
is currently under works.
2) The last STUCO meeting of the year will be held on Monday, April
20th at 6pm in Top Docs. Please note that all reports, funding and
agenda requests are due by Saturday April 18th at noon
3) All forms can be found on the STUCO website
V. Class Reports:
(A) 2009
1) The Class of 2009 has many exciting events to look forward to! Monday,
March 16th those students who participated in the NRMP match will find
out if they matched with a program. Thursday, March 19th is match day
for these students and the name of the program that each student
matched will be revealed! Our class has planned a Match Day party for
that night from 8-10 at North Bowl in Philly! There will be food,
drinks, bowling, a DJ, and lots of excited graduates-to-be! Feel
free to join us for the festivities!
2) Also, the Class of 2009 will be having our Financial Aid Exit
interviews on March 26th with a party sponsored by the Alumni
Association called The Last Blast that night at the Stone Grille.
Lots of celebration of all our accomplishments will be had, senior
superlative awards will be given, and a slideshow of our memories will
be shown.
3) Finally, on March 30th, a Q and A for the Class of 2010 about residency
and their specific specialty interests will be sponsored by the Class
of 2009 and we will break out into little groups. Students will be
able to ask any questions they want and get helpful hints on getting
into the residency of their choice. Refreshments will be served!
(B) 2010
1) There have being some concerns about 4th year elective scheduling since
the last STUCO meeting and this concerns has been properly expressed to
the clinical coordinator by me. Despite these issues the fundamentals of
the class as a team remain strong.
2) The allotted bidding time for COMLEX II Prep Program came to an end
earlier this month. The bidder's include Mind Works (BBC) and Kaplan .
The contracts submitted by these companies has been reviewed by the
Class Selection Committee and we are in the process of recommending a
company to Academic Affairs as soon as the questions we have for the
companies are answered.
3) We are also planning a Residency Forum with the fourth year class on
March 30th. This informal gathering will give us the opportunity to learn
important information regarding the match process.
4) Lastly the Class Council will be hosting a “Grill Out Barbeque Lunch” on
April 11th (Saturday) at Sam, Clinton and Buckey's house
(C) 2011
1) The SOM Class of 2011 is in “Do Not Disturb” mode until after the
COMLEX/USMLE! Kaplan Medical COMLEX/USMLE preparation
continues.
2) The class is currently working on the Nephrology/Urology module,
Infectious Disease, and finishing up OMM and Physical Diagnosis! They
are also preparing for the 11 exams that are coming up in March.
3) SOM 2011 has transitioned most organizations’ leadership over to SOM
2012. Much luck and success to them in 2009-2010.
4) Congratulations to Patty Ambrosio on her engagement!
5) In collaboration with the entire student body at SOM, SOM 2011 was one
of many health/law/graduate schools invited to a busy party in
Philadelphia hosted by Temple Dental School, on Friday, February 20th.
(D) 2012
1) There hasn’t been much going on this month, except for a few days of nice
weather. Our traditional students have continued with anatomy,
neurology, microbiology and patient care. The week of March 8th held our
first OMM practical for the semester, and the last didactic session for
professionalism. Our second block week will begin on Monday, March
16th with microbiology. Our OMM written exam will be held on Tuesday,
the 17th , followed by anatomy on Wednesday, the 18th and finishing up
the week with neurology on the 20th . Our professionalism final exam will
be held the following week, on Monday, the 23rd
2) I am excited to report that our council-appointed social directors, Lou
Marquet and Geoff Froehlich, kicked off their first major fundraising
event this month, aptly named the “March Mustache Madness.” It is
designed to raise money for our class, while most of the proceeds will be
going towards “The Smile Train,” an international charity which provides
funding for those in need of cleft lip/palate surgery as well as training for
the doctors involved. Besides collecting donations, our class will be
selling novelty items, including fake mustaches and commemorative cups
that will be used at the events’ closing celebration named “The Stash
Bash.” Participating men in our class have also begun growing their
mustaches and facial hair as a symbol of empathy towards those suffering
from a cleft lip or palate. More information will be available in the atrium
during the weeks of March, so please check it out.
3) Finally, I would like to conclude by saying thank you. As you all know,
this is election month, and our positions as council persons may change.
In the event that I am not re-elected as our class president, I would like to
say thank you to all of the current STUCO members for your cooperation
and mentorship, and I would like to thank the administration for your
guidance and support. I really appreciate all that you have done and I look
forward to working with you again next election term. Thank you.
(E)
PBL 2011
1) PBL class of 2011 has nothing to report because we are finished with our
classes and our last exam in on Friday!
(F)
PBL 2012
1) First year PBLers have completed their sensory motor module and are in
the third week of energy and nutrition. Dr, Krueger facilitated the
first two weeks and Dean Cavalieri will be in the classroom this week.
2) They continue their anatomy sessions with Dr. Clifford and patient
care with Dr. Scott
VI. Committee Reports:
(A) Curriculum:
1) No report
(B) Student Affairs:
1) Dr. Fontino who is the current fellow will help remediate for OMM
instead of Dr. Caveng. Dr. Mason is now the course director for the first
years.
2) Student Affairs Progress Committee Handbook must now be amended to
adhere to guidelines outlined for students who have borrowed money.
Therefore our handbook needs to be changed to conform to these
regulations. The deadline is next year so we’re going through the draft
again.
3) Voting power of the committee – bi-laws stipulate that voting is faculty
only. Administration may have input but does not have a final vote due to
the concern of conflict of interest. There has also been some discussion on
the intimate relationship some administrative personal share with students.
4) Time it takes to get grades back is a logistical problem and a timeline has
been requested.
5) Evaluation feedback – most students do not complete evaluations and so
we are looking into ways to improve feedback from students.
(C) Honor Code:
1) The Honor Council Meeting with Dr. Lambert was postponed until next
Thursday, 3/26/09, so Honor Council has nothing to report at this time.
2) We are still continuing to work on revisions of the Honor Code to be
discussed at our meeting with Dr. Lambert.
(D) Alumni Affairs:
1) No Report.
(E) Public Relations:
1) We will be taking the final STUCO group picture of the year at the next
meeting on April 20th. STUCO representatives please arrive by 5:45pm so
that we can take the picture and start the meeting on time.
2) Updated forms, minutes and calendar are accessible at
http://www3.umdnj.edu/stucoweb/index.htm
VII. Club Affairs:
(A) None.
VIII. Old Business:
IX. New Business
(A) Funding request from Milan Patel
Milan Patel submitted a request to fund himself to attend Camp John Warvel
2009 in North Webster, Indiana from June 5th – 14th. He stated that the camp
is a volunteer project that is funded and organized by the American Diabetes
Association. It is designed to teach newly diagnosed pediatric and juvenile
diabetic patients how to measure and control their blood sugar. Milan stated
that the camp provides lodging and food and he is requesting only travel
funds and requested $200 from the council.
Ultimately Milan was awarded $100 but the council felt that he had grossly
underestimated his travel costs and invited him to re-submit a request in
April after he reviews his expenses. The decision was approved by a vote of
seven with four oppositions and one abstention.
(B) Funding request from APAMSA for Summer Retreat.
Jennifer Lou submitted a request to fund two students to attend the APAMSA
National Board 2009 Summer Retreat at UCLA, LA from June 26th -28th.
They stated that at the retreat the plan to finalize and discuss national
business such as the 2009 national conference, 2009 hepatitis B meeting, etc.
They also plan to present and discuss national board officer reports with the
rest of the national board. She also stated that they were voted into their
national positions and the event is not required but they have been strongly
encouraged to attend. They requested $350/person for a total of $700 from
the council.
Ultimately they were awarded $121/person for a total of $242. The decision
was approved by a vote of seven with three oppositions and two abstentions.
(C) Funding request from Daria Szkwarko and Emilia Connolly for Unite for
Sight.
Daria Szkwarko and Emilia Connolly submitted a request for funds to attend
the Unite for Sight Conference at Yale University from April 18th -19th. They
explained to the council that the Unite for Sight Conference is one of the
biggest international health conferences in the country with over 2500 people
attending last year. They explained that they were accepted to present a
poster at the conference this year on the research that they had completed this
past summer in Tanzania. Daria and Emilia explained that this is a great
opportunity to share their project with students and physicians involved in
global health as well as introduce them to UMDNJ-SOM and osteopathic
medicine. They requested $120/person for a total of $240 from the council
and said that they had requested fund from SOMAFF but hadn’t heard of a
decision yet.
Ultimately they were awarded $95/person for a total of $190. The decision
was approved by a vote of 10 with one opposition and one abstention.
(D) Funding request from UAAO for Myriam Milord.
Lori Hener presented a request to fund Myriam Milord to attend the
American Academy of Osteopathy Annual Convocation in Little Rock,
Arkansas from March 25th- 29th. She stated that Myriam is the UAAO
Regional Coordinator I which is a national position. She further stated that
the convocation offers Educational opportunities through seminars and
workshops by leaders in the field as well as interactions with leaders,
educators, and other students. Finally, the AAO Education Committee has
designed a format for the 2008 AAO Convocation to accommodate both
physicians and students who desire increased accessibility to hands-on
workshops. During days one and two, hands-on workshops are scheduled in
the morning for students while the faculty is delivering lectures to physician
attendees. Students lecture topics will focus on information valuable to the
needs of medical students. On behalf of Myriam, Lori requested $300 from
the council and explained that other funding sources were the campus chapter
of UAAO which is contributing $200 and $150 from SOMAFF.
Ultimately Myriam was awarded $158. The decision was approved by a vote
of 8 with 5 oppositions.
(E) Funding request from Jon Torres for UAAO.
Jon Torres submitted a request to fund himself to attend the American
Academy of Osteopathy Annual Convocation in Little Rock, Arkansas from
March 25th- 29th. He stated that he is a fourth year student and an active
member and former president of the UAAO. He is currently the
Undergraduate Representative to the Louisa Burns Osteopathic Research
Committee, of the American Academy of Osteopathy and is required to
attend the Board meeting at the AAO Convocation in Little Rock, AK from
March 25-29. In this capacity he will be representing the Undergraduate’s
interests in Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine research Nationally. This
year he will be joining the PAAO, the division for Residents, and will be
running to represent the residents next year on the LBORC. He will also be
attempting to convince another UMDNJ student to take over his position next
year. In addition to his Board Meeting he is also planning to present his
poster; Osteopathic Manipulation in the Treatment of Acute Otitis Media; at
the UAAO Poster Presentation. Finally, he explained that he is the runner-
up for the A. Hollis Wolf Case Presentation, and would represent UMDNJSOM in the National Competition. Jon requested a total of $815 from the
council and explained to the council that he will be receiving $200 in support
from the OMM department on campus.
Ultimately Jon was awarded $158. The decision was approved unanimously.
(F) Alumni grant request for anatomy memorial
Ingrid Edshteyn presented on behalf of Nidhi Shah. The request was for an
Alumni grant to fund the annual anatomy memorial that will take place on
April 23rd. Ingrid explained to the council that the class of 2012 will be
hosting the annual Anatomy Memorial to commemorate the deceased that
have willingly donated themselves for our medical education. They plan to
keep tradition by having numerous artists perform poetry, music, and other
testimonials. The ceremony will be followed by refreshments/finger foods,
and the placing of flowers on each cadaver. All UMDNJ students,
faculty/administration, and esteemed guests are welcome to join.
Ultimately a unanimous decision was made to award an Alumni grant to the
class of 2012 for the memorial.
(G) Alumni grant request for UMDNJ Community Education Project.
Nikul Patel submitted an Alumni grant request to fund the UMDNJ
Community Education Project. He explained to the council that along with
David Lubinsky he began a project last summer in which they envisioned
their entire class working together towards a community service goal. They
established the idea to send medical students to surrounding high schools to
give presentations on a variety of different topics including introduction to
college, drugs and alcohol, sports injuries, financial aid, scholarships, skin
cancer, dating violence, motor vehicle accidents, etc. There are ten different
groups of individuals actively participating in this venture and they have sent
out letters to over 30 schools in the South Jersey area and managed to contact
many of them. Recently two students, Braidy Shambaugh and Michael
Brown, went into Triton High School and gave a presentation on sports
injuries to eight different health classes. It was a huge success and the school
has expressed interest in continuing to host medical students to give other
such presentations. Nikul then stated that future goals of the project include
developing a working relationship between neighboring high schools and
UMDNJ. This relationship will involve sending UMDNJ students to speak at
high schools on the topics listed previously. They are also open to including
new topics in the future and believe that this project not only enriches our
student experience but also enriches the education of our neighboring
community schools. Finally he stated the money from the grant will be used
for administrative purposes and prizes for the children.
Ultimately a unanimous decision was made to award an Alumni grant to
Nikul Patel to continue work on the UMDNJ Community Education Project.
(H) Alumni grant request for SOMA’s 2009 cultural fair
Farrell Silverman submitted an Alumni grant request to fund SOMA’s 2nd
Annual Cultural Fair that will be held on April 16th. He explained to the
council that the fair is a school-wide event that will showcase some of the
various cultures that make up the student body of UMDNJ-SOM. The event
is open to all UMDNJ students, faculty and staff.
Some of the highlights of this year’s Cultural Fair include a Filipino dance
demonstration, a traditional Ethiopian dance, and a fashion show featuring
traditional Indian attire. In addition, a staple of the event is the poster
exhibition prepared by the students of SOM. Tables are set up with displays
of relevant health information specific to each of the represented
regions/ethnicities at the fair. Those in attendance will be invited to sample
from a selection of prepared dishes distinctive to each of these different
cultures, as well. He further stated that the Cultural Fair is intended to give
the students, faculty, and staff of UMDNJ-SOM a rare opportunity to expose
themselves to the cultures and concerns of various ethnicities and regions
represented by the SOM community.
Ultimately a unanimous decision was made to award an Alumni grant to
SOMA for their 2009 Cultural Fair.
X. Motion to adjourn
(A)
The meeting was adjourned at 9:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kirin Syed
STUCO Secretary