According to the university's Web site, the current mission of the ombuds is "to provide a confidential, neutral and informal resource to facilitate resolutions to workplace concerns of faculty and staff.,”The Marquette Student Government Senate recommended the expansion of the Office of the Ombuds to address the academic concerns of students, one of five resolutions passed at Thursday's meeting.

According to the university's Web site, the current mission of the ombuds is "to provide a confidential, neutral and informal resource to facilitate resolutions to workplace concerns of faculty and staff."

The recommendation, which passed unanimously, called for the office to aid in resolving the academic concerns of students as well. It noted that other Jesuit schools such as Saint Louis University and Xavier University offer such services.

Although department chairs and college deans have traditionally dealt with academic disputes, authors of the legislation said such a system lacks objectiveness and confidentiality.

"If a student takes a concern directly to a department chair, to his professor he becomes 'that kid who complained about me to my boss,'" said Abe Matthew, an off-campus senator and College of Arts & Sciences junior who co-authored the recommendation.

The counseling department could also potentially be biased, said sophomore College of Arts & Sciences Senator Giuseppe Pappalardo.

"Counselors are a part of academic departments and still have to answer to higher-ups," Pappalardo said.

Diverse History Courses

Another recommendation called for increased diversity in the courses offered by Marquette's history department. According to the unanimous resolution, "courses such as the History of Africa and the History of Latin America are general overviews" while "courses in Eurocentric history are divided into specific eras."

The recommendation cited Saint Louis University, Loyola University Chicago and the University of Wisconsin-Madison as offering a "more diverse selection of history classes than Marquette University."

D2L

The Senate also passed a recommendation unanimously calling for Marquette educators to be required to attend a Desire2Learn tutorial session and post at least a syllabus and class expectations on D2L.

D2L is on online service through which teachers can post information and students can take quizzes and submit assignments.

According to the recommendation, only 63 percent of faculty currently use D2L. O'Donnell Senator Raveen Shah, a College of Business Administration freshman and author of the bill, said training for the system is currently optional and some teachers use their own Web sites.

"Students aren't getting the full advantage of what is really a very useful resource," Shah said.

Other Recommendations

A recommendation calling for increased enforcement of a campus smoking policy was also passed at Thursday's meeting. According to the student handbook, smoking is prohibited within 25 feet of a residence hall entrance. The recommendation cited students' concerns regarding the lack of enforcement of the policy.

Schroeder Hall Senator Billy Doerrer, a College of Business Administration sophomore, was the sole dissenter against the bill. Doerrer said he was concerned Department of Public Safety officials could be spread thin enforcing the policy.

Another recommendation, authored by Mashuda Hall Senator Jonathan Giel, a College of Business Administration sophomore, called for additional Marquette landmarks on the far east and west sides of campus.

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