Central Michigan University’s Student Government Association held a Town Hall with President Neil MacKinnon, Provost Paula Lancaster and Vice President of University Engagement and Student Affairs Shawna Patterson-Stephens to address student concerns about university decisions and campus issues on Nov. 9.
During the meeting, officials addressed a variety of student concerns, such as how the university handles cases of sexual violence that have recently been made on social media, threats made on campus during the Spring 2026 semester and dining concerns. They began by responding to questions submitted by students beforehand and concluded by taking questions directly from the audience.
MacKinnon he said that his perspective extends beyond his responsibilities as university president and is also shaped by his role as a father.
“You know me as President MacKinnon, but I’m also a dad, and I have three daughters at another public university,” Mackinnon said. “So my lens, as a human, is geared towards safety, because I view this job not just as a president, but as a father.”
“I think every university has difficult questions, but we can’t shy away from it, because if it matters to students, then it’s something we need to look at.”
During public comment, officials addressed several questions and concerns brought up:
- The $30 million State Grant and the $15 million CMU matched to renovate Brooks Hall.
- The new Rapid Response Communication Team provides input to the President on situations happening on campus. This is a new team that was formed after threats were made on campus in April.
- More fundraising for the Sexual Aggression Peer Advocates.
Some students said that they feel like they are not being heard by university officials.Connor Clark, a student at the meeting, said he feels frustrated with the university’s response to these concerns.
“I felt like a lot of the answers were very dodgy, especially the important ones, where, when people were raising real concerns; a lot of the answers were like, ‘Hey, we do care. Period,'” said Clark.
SGA President Zainab Nazz echoed this frustration.
“I do think the administrative side of answerswerea littlemore notdirect, and some of the questions were not answered,” Naaz said.
Meanwhile, MacKinnonsaid thattheuniversityishereforstudentsandarelistening totheirconcerns.
“To me, that shows we’ve got a lot of students that care about a lot of different things, and we need to make sure we’re on top of it as a university,” MacKinnon said.
Naaz said that this meeting happens every year and it is aimed at making these officials more accessible to students on campus.
“They’re (officials) supposed to be the most accessible individuals on campus, and unfortunately, they aren’t, and SGA is one place where they can be a little more accessible to students,” Naaz said.
