Director of Dick's House Jack Turco is creating a Dick's House student advisory board to obtain student input on issues such as the admissions policy for intoxicated students and making Dick's House of better service to students.
Turco said the advisory board of seven to 12 students will provide student input from "a relatively small group of students with hopefully a wide spectrum of opinions."
He said the advisory group will serve as "a way for student issues to be brought to my attention" as well as a "regular board to bounce issues off of."
Turco decided to start the advisory board because "I have often struggled trying to find a way to get student input," he said. "Medicine is becoming much more of a consumer issue. Students are consumers. They are going to be dictating what sort of services they want to have."
He said one issue he wants to address with the board is Dick's House's admissions policy for intoxicated students.
"Another purpose is for these students to be catalysts for discussion with other students and to supply them with information," Turco said.
Turco said he hopes the advisory board will also help to make Dick's House a service better for students.
"I want to keep a finger on the pulse of what the students are thinking," Turco said. "I will value their recommendations highly."
"It won't be a policy-making board," he said.
He said the student advisory board could also help educate students about long-term medical issues.
"I am envisioning that besides the one big issue [admitting intoxicated students] issues will come up from the students," Turco said. "One idea could be subcommittees that are student directed -- students and perhaps other administrators could meet for the subcommittees."
Turco said he plans to ask the students on the board if they would like other administrators to serve on it, but he wants to keep the board "intimate."
He said more than 30 students are interested in participating on the advisory board, which will meet through Winter and Spring terms.
"I honestly don't have a system of choosing people," he said.
He added he might have an introductory meeting this term and see how many students are "specifically interested afterward." He said if the interest is still high, then he will ask for students' opinions on how to select board members.
Turco said he plans to attend all meetings and perhaps have others, such as Director of Health Resources Gabrielle Lucke, speak at meetings.
Turco said the frequency of the advisory board's meetings will depend on the issues it addresses, but he is expecting them to meet several times each term.
"There will be some issues that will come up with information to be gathered that can be distributed through the Hinman boxes so we will have the information when we meet," he said.
Turco said the subcommittees will decide on their own when to meet.
