With only a week until Election Day, just about everyone has questions they want to ask about the president. For Shippensburg University, a different kind of president took questions from the student body on Thursday afternoon.

SU President Charles Patterson and other administrators met with the student body Thursday afternoon in a reimagined, SGA-sponsored President’s Hour in the Ceddia Union Building.

Beginning this semester, President’s Hour has been shifted to SGA from the Residence Hall Association and was hosted in a new location at a new timeslot. Whereas two forums used to be hosted each semester, currently no second date is scheduled.

“The goal is to have the voice of the students go through SGA,” Dean of Students Lorie Sheetz said.

Sheetz noted that consolidation of President’s Hour is the administration trying to “evolve with the times” and adapt to fewer questions being asked during previous forums.

About 15 students were in the audience, while more were able to submit questions in advance to SGA.

Patterson addressed ongoing concerns about financial aid packages, saying that “PHEAA is unfortunately delayed,” but Megan Luft, vice president of Enrollment Management and Marketing, has reported nearly 400 students’ accounts have been cleared in recent weeks. Patterson noted “accurate distributions” are expected by the end of October.

SGA President Lillian Sellers questioned Director of Facilities Matt Dominick about continued concerns over campus accessibility. Dominick said implementing accessibility buttons for first-floor hallway doors in residence halls has taken much longer than expected but have now been approved. Installation for Harley Hall and McCune Hall is expected in mid-November.

Dominick also noted that final approvals and signatures have delayed renovations to Franklin Science Center, but he is “hopeful in the next couple weeks you’ll see fencing go up.” Renovations are expected to take until early 2027.

Several questions were directed to General Manager Will Anderson about on-campus dining, including concerns about meal period hours and portion sizes at retail locations Bento Sushi and the Corner Spotlight.

Anderson said he was not aware of any changes at Bento, which is a third-party vendor, but will assess if additional training regarding portion sizes should be implemented.

Sheetz added that prices and portions can fluctuate based on inflation and the Consumer Price Index — in the past two years, the value of a meal swipe has risen from $6.40 to $6.85. Sheetz also noted that Big Red’s Cupboard has seen 100 weekly visitors this semester, which is double previous years.

“We believe that somehow the PHEAA grants, PA Grants…students not getting those has affected the need,” Sheetz said.

Patterson faced a few questions on campus politics, sharing that the university has been contacted by political campaigns but did not offer specific details.

“They have asked if we can accommodate their needs, and so far, we have not because we’ve had already existing commitments on the use of our facilities,” Patterson said. “We just haven’t had the space available.”

One online submission asked if The Slate, Shippensburg University’s student-run newspaper, is allowed to endorse a presidential candidate.

“They have that right,” Provost Darrell Newton said. “They can’t speak for the entire campus, obviously, as a campus newspaper, but the editorial board surely could [endorse].”

“Just as I don’t pick a side in a war, I also don’t pick candidates,” Patterson said. 

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