The second Town Hall of the semester with NYU President John Sexton took place in the Kimmel Center for University Life on Nov. 19. Students had the opportunity to ask the university’s president questions and voice concerns.
The format of the Town Hall differed from previous meetings. Student were allowed to speak up if they had questions, unlike the previous structure when questions were chosen from a fishbowl. Student Senators’ Council chair and CAS senior Mariam Ehrari said the fishbowl system had to be altered.
“I’ve just realized that sometimes you don’t get the hot, pressing issues of the day because there is a fishbowl system,” Ehrari said. “So I thought, ‘Why not just open up the forum like any Town Hall and allow people to come up and speak their mind.’”
In response to a question about financial aid at NYU, Sexton emphasized the importance of statistics.
“Twelve years ago, we met 30 percent of our students’ demonstrated need,” Sexton said. “Today, we’re meeting 57 percent.”
Second-year Steinhardt graduate student Loris Jones-Randolph asked Sexton when university-wide scholarships would be implemented for graduate students.
“We can only do the best we can do, and we [have got to] prioritize,” Sexton said. “We’re not [going to] have adequate financial aid for master’s students during my time. Do I hope during my successor’s time? Yes. But not during my time. So that means not during your time.”
Jones-Randolph said the content of Sexton’s response was disappointing, but she said she admired his honesty.
“As master’s students, we’re at a position where we’re not getting as much funding as undergraduates, and we’re not getting as much funding as the Ph.D. students,” Jones-Randolph said. “Although it’s disappointing, I’m happy that he was honest and didn’t try to sugarcoat anything.”
Before the meeting started, four members of the Student Labor Action Movement handed a letter to Sexton that stated the group’s desire to have NYU apparel produced in factories which meet safety standards outlined in the Fire and Building Safety Accord in Bangladesh. Sexton said that, as the chair of the Senate, he tries not to express views before the Senate meets.
“If you examine the record both of the university and of New York for the last 25 years, you probably would be hopeful,” Sexton said. “I would encourage you to continue your efforts [with this cause].”
Students from the Native American and Indigenous Students group at NYU asked Sexton about the current diversity recruitment steps to attract Native American and indigenous students to campus.
“I’m not satisfied with the representation of Native American students in our student body,” Sexton said. “I think we have to do more.”
When asked about the connection between the Polytechnic Institute of NYU’s campus and the Manhattan campus, Sexton said students should visit NYU-Poly.
“You’re going to be on an NYU campus and you’re going to be in Brooklyn,” Sexton said. “Don’t just think will Poly students come here or vice versa. We have got to get that flow going.”
Sexton said there was going to be a bus between the NYU-Poly campus and the Manhattan campus, but he stressed using the subway.
“Out to Brooklyn from here, the best way to go is subway, because it’s 20 minutes door-to-door,” Sexton said.
Sexton also addressed concerns about the Global Network University and the Momentum Campaign for financial aid.
“My life is about trying to raise financial aid for the university,” Sexton said. “With Abu Dhabi and with Shanghai, we’ve brought in a huge amount of financial aid that goes to kids from anywhere in the world, including New York City.”
Ehrari said there may only be one Town Hall next semester instead of the typical two.
“It really depends on turnout,” Ehrari said. “I don’t want to take [Sexton’s] time and not have many students come and question. It’s still something we’re considering.”
A version of this article appeared in the Wednesday, Nov. 20 print edition. Afeefa Tariq is a staff writer. Email her at [email protected].