Town Hall Meeting

The Dean of Students Office will be holding a town hall meeting Tuesday, April 5 to give students a chance to have their voices heard about ways to make Liberty a better place.

Dean of Students Robert Mullen said there would be a panel of representatives from different departments around Liberty. Those represented will include the Office of Spiritual Development, Student Conduct, the Registrar’s Office, Title IX, Transportation Services, Auxillary Services, the Student Government Association, Student Housing, the Dean of Students and the Campus Pastors Office.

The meeting will be held in DeMoss 4047 and is open to all Liberty students.

Mullen said the meeting is not targeted at specific issues, but rather an opportunity to hear students’ concerns.

“The town hall meeting is an open forum,” Mullen said. “What is discussed will depend upon the questions, comments or concerns that students bring to the meeting.”

Mullen said they like to offer the town hall meeting as an opportunity for students to present their worries and comments face-to-face.

“While a student can call the Dean of Students Office, Transit or some other place, (the town hall meeting) is a chance to just come in and say ‘Hey, I wondered this,’” Mullen said.

According to Mullen, students thoughts and concerns in the past made a difference in the decision making of his office and others.

“Their input really does make a difference,” Mullen said. “There were concerns brought up about the Liberty Way last Spring, and that was a part of the process of discussions that took place that led to some of the changes in the Liberty Way.”

In addition, Mullen said that student input had a hand in some of the recent changes to and discussion around meal plans.

Mullen said they are really looking for genuine feedback at this meeting.

“We don’t just have the meeting because we’re supposed to have it,” Mullen said. “We really are looking for feedback and input to make Liberty an even better place.”

Mullen said that in the past, they have had anywhere from 40-60 students in attendance, but he is hoping to see a greater turnout April 5.

While student input has made a difference, the Dean of Students Office is not always able to implement changes that students want.

“Sometimes we’re able to respond and make a change, and other times it’s like, ‘No, that’s really the best way for it to work,’” Mullen said.

When concerns are brought up in the meeting, the panel of representatives will take them into consideration and look into what changes could be made to improve that specific area of concern.

“We take all the questions, and if there has to be a follow up, we follow up and try to get answers to the questions,” Mullen said.

Mullen said they really want to see what students are concerned about and be able to work on improving those areas.

More information about the Dean of Students Office and its departments can be found at liberty.edu/studentaffairs/deanofstudents.