The SG quickreader

Skaptopara Residence Halls will get two 42-inch (106 cm) plasma television sets, which should be installed in Skaptopara main lobbies by the end of the spring break. The Student Government (SG) decided on the purchase on its February 25 meeting.

The cost of the two TV sets is $1,120, out of which $1,000 will be covered by the Student Life Improvement Fund. This means the Fund for Academic Year 2008/2009 has been depleted. SG will get the rest of the money from the Contingency Fund, SG President Vasile Valcov said.

Dean of Students Lydia Krise supports the idea of buying TV sets, Senator Filip Taseski said. The change is necessary because the existing sets are "old and small," he added.

Taseski suggested buying Wii game consoles together with the new TV sets. Senator Giorgi Mariamidze said money used to pay for SG Work-Study positions could be used for this purpose. Buying something like game consoles is a capital expenditure, which is the best form of investment, he added.

Buying the Wii consoles was not voted by the SG during the meeting. One reason for the disapproval of the purchase was the lack of information on prices. "The idea is appealing, but it's worth discussing more later," Valcov said. "We need to [approve the purchase of] TVs now, so that they can be installed during the break," SG Vice President Vaska Dimitrova said.

Curriculum changes

Updated course listings, the birth of a new major, and the death of another are among the changes that the AUBG curriculum is going through. Although there has been no official confirmation by the Faculty Assembly, SG announced the changes at the February 25 meeting.

The Southeast European Studies (SES) major has been dropped from the curriculum to be replaced with a minor. New courses have been introduced to reflect the establishment of the Information Systems major. Some examples include Web Server Technologies, Dynamic Web and Management of Information Systems. Other updates of the course listings involve the Business Administration (BUS) and Journalism and Mass Communications (JMC) majors. Introduction to Public Relations has been cross-listed between Business Administration (BUS) and Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC) majors. History students will benefit from new Topics in Bulgarian History and Topics in World History.

Rescheduled Exams

Rescheduling of exams by AUBG professors is an issue for many students, Senator Filip Taseski said. Some of them have their exams rescheduled for evenings instead of having exams at regular class hours. This is true for such classes as Business Law or Introductory Accounting II, he added.

Treasurer Leorand Ndoni said there are also students who like the rescheduling, because they have more time for the exam. "I'd rather have two hours for an exam than 75 minutes," he added.

Exams tend to be harder when they are two hours long, Taseski said. Furthermore, there is no consent from students concerning the rescheduling of the exams, he added.

"If we send this request [to stop scheduling exams in the evening] to the administration and it is approved, it will become an official requirement," Vice President Vaska Dimitrova said. She proposed that the request not be sent because the reasons for rescheduling vary on a case-to-case basis.

Dimitrova, together with Senator Nikita Bukreyev and Chair Daniyar Abenov, will raise the issue at a meeting with Dean of Faculty Steve Sullivan.